The 8 American countries that support the offensive against Maduro's narco-regime

International pressure on the Chavista regime is entering a decisive phase. The strategy promoted from Washington by Republican Senator Marco Rubio is beginning to show concrete results: a coalition of eight countries from the American continent has aligned against dictator Nicolás Maduro and his ties to drug trafficking.

The United States, accompanied by Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic, formally designated the so-called Cártel de los Soles—Chavismo's drug arm—as a terrorist organization. Meanwhile, Curaçao and Trinidad and Tobago authorized U.S. vessels to operate in their territorial waters, while Guyana openly expressed its support for the United States military deployment on the Venezuelan coast.

Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, during election day, assured that he will support any action that protects his country's security and contributes to combating organized crime: "We will support anything that eliminates any threat to our security, not only in terms of sovereignty (...) We must unite to fight transnational crime, to fight drug trafficking."

Caracas reacted with hostility. The Defense Minister of the regime, Vladimir Padrino López, dismissed Guyana's accusations about a Venezuelan attack on a vessel transporting electoral material and labeled the complaint as "fake." However, Guyana reported that its patrol returned fire without any injuries or damage to the guarded material.

Meanwhile, Washington strengthened its presence in the Caribbean. The operation, presented as an anti-drug operation, includes the deployment of several warships, about 4,000 troops, and a nuclear submarine. The Donald Trump administration accuses Maduro of leading a drug cartel and raised the reward for information leading to his capture to 50 million dollars.

The Venezuelan dictator replied with warlike threats. In Caracas, before the international press, Maduro denounced the presence of "eight United States military ships, equipped with 1,200 missiles and accompanied by a nuclear submarine" and described the situation as "the greatest threat our continent has seen in the last 100 years." He even compared the deployment to the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 and warned: "If Venezuela were attacked, it would immediately enter a period of armed struggle in defense of the national territory and the people of Venezuela."

In line with that rhetoric, he ordered the mobilization of 4.5 million militiamen and the activation of the military reserve. He also attempted to downplay the drug trafficking accusations against his regime, calling the U.S. operation a "mess" and accusing Washington of constructing "an absurd narrative."