US Military Deployment in Caribbean Escalates Tensions as Venezuela Prepares for Possible Invasion

Venezuelan fishermen are taking precautionary measures in response to the American military deployment in Caribbean waters.

Venezuela has been placed on high alert due to US military forces positioned off its coastline, sparking widespread invasion concerns. The country plans to conduct disaster preparedness exercises on Saturday while President Nicolas Maduro considers implementing emergency powers.

President Maduro announced these drills on Thursday, following several earth tremors that further unsettled a population already disturbed by recent deadly US strikes on suspected Venezuelan narcotics vessels.

US President Trump has stationed eight warships and a nuclear-powered submarine in the southern Caribbean as part of what is described as an anti-drug trafficking operation.

American forces have destroyed at least three vessels suspected of drug trafficking in Caribbean waters in recent weeks, resulting in over a dozen fatalities - actions that United Nations experts have condemned as "extrajudicial execution."

According to an NBC report citing four sources familiar with the discussions, US military officials are currently developing options to target drug traffickers within Venezuelan territory.

The report suggests these strikes could occur "in the next several weeks," though President Trump has not yet authorized such actions.

President Maduro, whom Trump accuses of heading a narco cartel, believes Washington is pursuing regime change in Venezuela.

Thousands of Venezuelan citizens have enlisted in civilian militias following President Maduro's call to strengthen the financially strained nation's defenses.

Many participants have engaged in weapons training conducted at military facilities and within neighborhoods.

Compounding tensions, western Venezuela experienced a series of earthquakes on Wednesday and Thursday, with the strongest measuring 6.3 magnitude, though no major damage or casualties were reported.

Referencing US "threats," President Maduro called for exercises beginning at 9:00 am Saturday to evaluate "the people's readiness for natural catastrophes or any armed conflict."

Educational institutions and healthcare facilities are expected to participate "to prepare for any circumstance," according to the president.

On Tuesday, Maduro appeared on state television holding a red folder labeled: "Decree declaring a state of external commotion across the national territory."

Venezuela's constitution permits such a decree when facing an "external conflict that seriously endangers the security of the nation, its citizens, or its institutions."

This declaration would grant the government emergency authority to bypass parliamentary procedures, suspend constitutional guarantees, and deploy military forces, among other measures.

While President Maduro has not yet implemented these measures, he stated Tuesday that "we are preparing significant decrees... for any scenario that may arise."

Human rights organizations have expressed to AFP their concerns that the government might use an emergency decree to restrict freedoms of assembly, movement, and expression.

According to the rights group Foro Penal, Venezuela currently detains hundreds of individuals for political reasons—many arrested during unrest following President Maduro's contested re-election in July last year.

The United States and numerous other countries did not recognize Maduro's victory claim.

During this week's UN General Assembly, Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for "criminal proceedings" against Trump regarding the Caribbean strikes on Venezuelans who had not been convicted of any crimes.