US-Venezuela Tensions Escalate in the Caribbean

President Donald Trump has stated that the United States is not talking about regime change in Venezuela. "However, we are talking about the fact that there were elections in Venezuela that were, to put it mildly, very strange," Trump said, adding that a huge amount of drugs is being imported into the US from Venezuela.

Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela's long-time leader, who in recent days had promised an "armed struggle" against the "threat" of a US presence in the Caribbean, has stated that "no dispute" with the US justifies a military conflict. His rhetoric has become more restrained. Nevertheless, on September 5, he ordered a mass mobilization.

"Today we are taking a great step to unite all of Venezuela to defend the right to peace and independence," Maduro announced. With this statement, he is activating what the government calls 5,333 combat units.

Their personnel, according to official data, exceeds 12.5 million fighters, including regular troops and police. Maduro called on Washington to "abandon its plans for violent regime change in Venezuela and throughout Latin America."

Tensions between Venezuela and the US are deepening, conditioned by the strengthening of the US military presence in the Caribbean and US accusations against Maduro, which, according to experts, could lead to a second Caribbean crisis, the visible actors of which are currently two: the US and Venezuela.