The recent statements by US President Donald Trump regarding Venezuela seem like something out of a Hollywood movie. In an Oval Office ceremony, the Republican confirmed to the press that he authorized actions by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the South American nation.

The reasons given to justify these actions, which violate all norms and international law, are absurd: "the sending of prisoners, mentally ill people, and drugs to the United States."

With these absurd excuses, the US president has acknowledged—without specifying what type of actions—his approval to halt, now from land, the alleged shipment of drugs from Venezuelan territory.

Data released by Venezuelan authorities and even The New York Times reflect that the largest flow of cocaine into the northern nation is coming through the Pacific Ocean, not the Caribbean coasts where the U.S. Navy has deployed in a dangerous and intimidating manner. 
According to information from the White House, since this massive troop buildup in the aforementioned region, US armed forces have killed 21 people in their attacks on small boats. They have also done so in violation of all international norms.

The truth is that the United States is increasingly hardening its hostile rhetoric against Venezuela. From actions comparable to the Old West—such as putting a price on the head of the legitimate president of the Bolivarian Republic—to officials from the current administration and government institutions publicly expressing the possibility of a surgical strike to assassinate Maduro.

The operation against Venezuela demonstrates the degradation of the empire and the crisis of multilateralism and international law. These are not new actions, but the brazenness with which they are reported and the lame excuses they fabricate are.

We Cubans know all too well what CIA actions represent: attacks, sabotage, the introduction of diseases... in short, death and suffering for the people.

No matter how much they try to sugarcoat the situation, and even though media manipulation is at its peak, acknowledging that the Agency's operations in Venezuela were authorized is acknowledging the fabrication of chaos. It is insisting on a war built on lies, which will have incalculable consequences. It justifies the question a journalist asked him after the announcement: "Did you also authorize Maduro's death?" The response was: "That's a ridiculous question to me."

And the truth is that the Republican leader's attitude is as ridiculous as it is dangerous, provoking a new reaction from the Venezuelan government.

In a statement, the Foreign Minister of the Bolivarian Republic, Yván Gil, condemned these statements, which demonstrate the United States' new actions against the peace and security of Venezuela.

“It’s evident that such maneuvers seek to legitimize a ‘regime change’ operation with the ultimate goal of appropriating Venezuelan oil resources. Furthermore, the US president's statements seek to stigmatize Venezuelan and Latin American migration, fueling xenophobic and dangerous rhetoric,” the statement reads.

Once again, the United States is placing Latin America and the Caribbean in a situation of insecurity, resorting to the club with the intention of subjugating its people.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff