Maduro announces new border defense zones as tensions persist

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen net
16 Oct 2025 02:56
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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro emphasizes his country's sovereignty and dignity in a televised speech, announcing new comprehensive defense zones along the Colombian border.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gives a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, September 15, 2025. (AP)

Venezuela has become a model of dignity, courage, and a peaceful, respectful, and hard-working people, President Nicolas Maduro stated on Wednesday. In a televised address, Maduro emphasized the nation’s commitment to peace, saying Venezuela “will continue to earn peace by exercising its full sovereignty and defending its right to life and the joy of its people.”

Highlighting the progress his country has made, Maduro asserted, “Venezuela is moving forward because it is becoming a model,” underlining the importance of collective effort in defending the homeland.

The Venezuelan leader called for heightened mobilization and preparedness in the coming days. He stressed the need for “greater deployment and maximum preparation” to ensure national stability and defense.

Maduro urged Venezuelans to multiply their efforts, reinforcing the message that sovereignty must be actively defended and that popular participation is key to national resilience.

New comprehensive defense zones along Colombian border

President Maduro also announced that he will unveil new comprehensive defense zones along the country’s western border with Colombia. These zones will include the states of Táchira, Apure, and Amazonas.

“These areas set an example and are developing, and thus we are surpassing ourselves day after day in preparing for defense and preparing an active and creative popular resistance,” Maduro said.

US approves covert CIA action in Venezuela

The Trump administration has secretly given the CIA permission to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, which includes carrying out deadly strikes, representing an escalation of the campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his government, according to a New York Times report from Wednesday that cited unnamed sources.

These operations could involve strikes within Venezuela, which is a more serious step than recent US attacks on boats off the coast, attacks that were supposedly linked to drug trafficking and have so far caused 27 deaths, according to the report. The goal behind all these actions is to oust Maduro from power, sources told the NYT.

Despite the approval, there is no confirmed information that the CIA actually plans to conduct operations in Venezuela or the Caribbean, and all the intelligence on this issue comes from anonymous US officials who claim to be familiar with a highly classified document.