Maduro warns of US buildup: 'Do they want another Gaza in S. America?'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen English
Today 03:47

Maduro addresses the people of the United States, urging action to stop what could turn into a tragedy in the American continent.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gives a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela, Sept 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jesus Vargas, File)

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called on the people of the United States to play a "heroic role" in halting what could become “a tragedy for our entire American continent.”

Speaking early Saturday, Maduro emphasized that peace and international law would ultimately prevail in Venezuela, asserting that the Venezuelan people "will know how to secure their stability and their full sovereign right to exist."

The Venezuelan president also raised a pointed question: “Do they want another Gaza in South America?” Addressing the US public, he added, “Humanity is already suffering enough from the pain caused by the genocide in Gaza.”

US announces Op. Southern Spear

This follows the launch of a new military campaign in Latin America, dubbed Operation Southern Spear, under the pretext of the Trump administration's "war on drugs", which has so far yielded fatal operations and skyrocketing tensions amid the growing militarization of the region.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth revealed that, under President Donald Trump's directive, the Pentagon launched the operation, claiming it would "secure our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people."

Southern Command had initially introduced Operation Southern Spear in January, outlining the use of advanced technologies, including long-dwell robotic surface vessels, small robotic interceptor boats, and vertical take-off and landing robotic air units to support counter-narcotics efforts.

ALBA slams US interventionism

Meanwhile, Venezuela maintains that what Washington truly seeks is regime change and resource theft.

In this context, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) warned that if Washington intensifies its pressure campaign into “reckless military aggression” against a sovereign nation, the entire Caribbean basin would be pushed into “unprecedented turmoil.”

Any attempt to impose force, it added, would immediately threaten political, economic, and social stability across Latin America and the Caribbean. The alliance reiterated that the region “must remain a zone of peace.”

According to the statement, the US is not defending democratic principles, but once again “recycling the same interventionist agenda rooted in the Monroe Doctrine.” It accused Washington of seeking to revive “an oligarchic political class defeated by the Venezuelan people and rejected by the region,” adding that similar attempts “have failed before and will fail again.”