Venezuela warns CELAC of U.S. troops “ready to invade” its territory

Venezuela.- Venezuela urged the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on Monday to demand the withdrawal of U.S. military assets allegedly deployed near its shores. Foreign Minister Yván Gil claimed that 4,200 U.S.-trained troops, eight vessels carrying over 1,200 missiles, and even a nuclear submarine are stationed in the Caribbean, posing a threat to the country’s sovereignty and violating the 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco, which prohibits nuclear weapons in the region.

Speaking at an emergency CELAC meeting convened by Colombia, Gil denounced Washington’s justification for the deployment as a “false narrative” tied to the so-called Cartel of the Suns, an alleged drug-trafficking group linked to the government of Nicolás Maduro. He warned that any armed action against Venezuela under this pretext would destabilize the entire region.

The minister insisted that Venezuela is free of illicit crops, highlighting that only 5% of Colombian cocaine bound for the U.S. passes through its territory, of which 70% is seized by Venezuelan security forces. Gil called on CELAC’s 33 member states to defend Latin America as a “zone of peace” and to condemn U.S. military presence. He affirmed that Venezuela is prepared to defend itself “with all available means.”