‘We don’t want a war in the Caribbean’, says Maduro after Trump’s threat of land invasion

US authorizes CIA presence in Venezuelan territory; For analysts, the threat is part of Trump’s rhetorical escalation

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said on Wednesday night (15) that Venezuelans want peace, after US President Donald Trump announced that he is considering carrying out ground attacks against what he calls the country’s “cartels”. In practice, the US government authorizes the CIA to conduct lethal actions in Venezuela against the Maduro government.

“We don’t want a war in the Caribbean,” Maduro said in a live teleSur broadcast of the meeting of the National Sovereignty and Peace Council, installed in September, after the United States deployed warships and planes in the Caribbean, in front of Venezuelan waters.

“In the face of the escalation of daily psychological warfare, threats, news, statements, videos, there is a great vaccine, a vaccine for all Venezuelans: our National Council for Sovereignty and Peace”, declared the president of Venezuela.

Maduro also said that the threats are “a cowardice that comes from Miami” and recalled the military coups in Chile and Argentina, which had help from the CIA. “No to coups d’état promoted by the CIA”, he added.

The Venezuelan president declared that it is necessary to show US public opinion the lies propagated by the Trump government. “Not war, just peace. Is that how you say it?”, he joked.

Maduro ended his speech by repeating the message: “Let us defend peace, win peace, preserve peace.”

Despite the speech, on the same day, Maduro ordered military exercises in the country’s largest communities. Regarding the action, the president had stated earlier that the mobilization seeks to “defend mountains, coasts, schools, hospitals, factories, markets” and communities “to continue achieving peace”.

Rhetorical escalation of threats

The first news about new US actions against Venezuela were first published by The New York Times, which reported that Trump authorized the CIA to carry out secret actions in Venezuela. Later, Trump confirmed the information.

For political scientist Éder Peña, from the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), the message is more or less the same as what has been circulating in recent weeks with the presence of US ships in the Caribbean seas. “It’s like keeping the theme on top,” Peña said.

The intention, according to his analysis, is to bring and maintain untrue information, such as, for example, the presence of drug trafficking cartels in Venezuela.

“It’s another step in the escalation of threats, but, in truth, the CIA never stopped organizing subversive actions against countries ‘enemies’ of the USA”, highlights the political analyst at the Venezuela Analysis portal, Ricardo Vaz.

Vaz recalls that the news, published by The New York Times, “always available to help with North American foreign policy”, coincided with information about two bombers in the Caribbean Sea, close to Venezuela.

In the analyst’s opinion, there is not enough capacity mobilized for a US land invasion, but the trend is for an increase in threats and provocations. “The messages from the White House remain ambiguous, repeating only these false accusations of narco-terrorism.”

Originally published by Brasil de Fato on 10/15/2025

Editing: Luís Indriunas and Maria Teresa Cruz