Venezuela ready to respond to US threats: Castro
Former Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, says Venezuela is prepared to confront the “threats” posed by the United States amid rising Washington-Caracas tensions over the new US bans against the Latin American state.
Castro made the remarks in a letter to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which was published in Cuban state-run media on Tuesday.
The former Cuban political figure praised the “attitude” of Venezuelan people and the “exemplary discipline and spirit” of the nation’s armed forces in the face of Washington’s threats.
“No matter what the imperialism of the United States may do, it will never be able to count on them (the armed forces) to do what it had done for so many years,” Castro said, adding that Venezuela currently had “the best equipped soldiers” in Latin America.
On March 14, some 100,000 Venezuelan soldiers launched 10 days of military exercises across the country days after Washington imposed sanctions on seven Venezuelan officials over alleged human rights abuse.
US President Barack Obama also signed an executive order on March 9, labeling Venezuela as an extraordinary threat to national security.
Ahead of the exercises, Maduro had stated that the Latin American country has no option but to “defend itself” in the face of the US hostility.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said the military exercises were being held so that the armed forces could prepare themselves to ensure the country’s independence in the face of US sanctions, which he described as “an imminent danger.”
On March 12, Maduro described Washington as Venezuela’s “only enemy,” saying it is the United States that poses the “real” security threat to his country and the entire world.
The12-nation Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) has criticized Washington’s moves.
SZH/MKA/SS
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