BOGOTA / ISTANBUL

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Wednesday that his country seeks peace in the Caribbean and rejected what he described as US “imperialist ambitions” threatening regional stability.

“We do not want war in the Caribbean or in Latin America -- we only want peace,” Maduro said at a National Sovereignty and Peace Council meeting in Caracas.

He accused Washington of expanding its military presence in the region and using power to “impose a single way of thinking, a single system, and a single authority,” declaring that “this era is long over.”

Maduro also blamed the CIA for “negative events” in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Argentina, and Chile, urging Latin American nations to stand together against what he called US interference.

“The Venezuelan people are dignified, compassionate, and hardworking. They are trying to create a narrative in which Venezuelans are portrayed as bad, while superior, racist whites are portrayed as good,” he said. “It is time to end the discriminatory and xenophobic discourse that equates Venezuelan identity with criminal organizations that have already been dismantled in our country.”

Tensions rise over US military moves

Maduro’s remarks came as US military activity has increased around Venezuelan waters.

A decree signed earlier by US President Donald Trump authorized wider deployment of American forces to counter Latin American drug cartels. In line with that order, the US positioned warships and submarines off Venezuela’s coast in late August.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later said the American military was prepared for operations in Venezuela, including regime change if necessary.

Maduro responded by mobilizing 4.5 million militia members, saying the country was ready to repel any potential aggression.

Caracas and several international observers have criticized Washington’s continued targeting of boats off the Venezuelan coast under the pretext of anti-drug operations, calling the strikes violations of international law.