Venezuela’s president calls on US people to unite with Venezuela for peace in the Americas

The people of the United States should unite with Venezuela for the peace of the Americas, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro told CNN in the middle of a rally in Caracas on Thursday.

His exclusive remarks come amid heightened tensions with the US, which has deployed warships to the Caribbean to target what it claims are drug trafficking vessels from Venezuela. Though Washington insists the military buildup is aimed at disrupting the flow of narcotics to the United States, Caracas believes the US is really trying to force regime change.

In response to the US military buildup, Venezuela has launched a “massive mobilization” of military personnel, weapons and equipment.

Maduro urged the US against entering another prolonged conflict, asking its people in Spanish: “To unite for the peace of (the Americas). No more endless wars. No more unjust wars. No more Libya. No more Afghanistan.”

Asked if he had a message for US President Donald Trump, Maduro replied in English: “Yes peace, yes peace.”

Maduro was attending a mass rally for Venezuela’s youth, whom he later urged to resist what he described as a threat of invasion from the US.