Nicolás Maduro announced this Wednesday that starting this Thursday the Independencia 200 plan will be launched in the states of Táchira, Apure and Amazonas, bordering Colombia, for the “comprehensive defense” of the country, in a context marked by the US military deployment in the Caribbean Sea.
In a telephone contact with the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), the president announced that the so-called Comprehensive Defense Operational Zones (ZODI) will be activated in “part of the border with sister Colombia”, within the framework of the defensive plan, which began to be developed progressively a week ago, mainly in regions with access to the Caribbean.
“We are winning peace, area by area, territory by territory, state by state, and who wins peace? The entire society wins, the united society, the people united in perfect national union. We are moving forward because Venezuela today is transformed into an example (…) of dignity, of courage, of a peaceful, decent, hard-working people,” he expressed.
Defense tasks
The head of state called for “increasing all tasks in the days that are passing and to come,” related, he noted, to “comprehensive preparation for defense.”
This same Wednesday, the authorities activated the plan in Caracas and in the state of Miranda (north, close to the capital), which joined the 11 regions where there have already been deployments in the last week, the vast majority coastal, in addition to the insular Nueva Esparta, in the southeast of the Caribbean.
Maduro, through his Telegram channel, asked the citizens, military and police of Caracas and Miranda, where he said almost seven million people live, to activate “the entire comprehensive defense force” to protect “mountains, coasts, schools, hospitals, factories, markets and communities”, in order, he added, to “continue to win peace.”
The Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, led the mobilization in a sector of Miranda, during which he reiterated that the country remains “in active and prolonged resistance” to “the aggression, the siege and the attacks of imperialism”, in reference to the United States, whose government he accused of wanting to “steal” the “immense natural resources” of Venezuela.
Chavismo’s number two explained that the purpose of the plan is to guarantee that the nation continues to function while preparing to defend itself, which, he maintained, is also the responsibility “of the people” and “not only” of the authorities.
The United States defends its deployment as an operation against alleged drug trafficking from the South American nation, while the Maduro Executive insists that it is a “threat” to promote a “regime change” and “appropriate” its resources.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, declared this Wednesday that he is studying the possibility of carrying out attacks against drug trafficking in Venezuelan territory, after having sunk several alleged drug trafficking vessels at sea.
With information from Efe.
