Venezuela launched this Friday a new phase of the Independence 200 plana military and civil operation that, according to Nicolás Maduro, seeks to guarantee the comprehensive defense of the nation against the “constant threat” of the United States.
The deployment covers the states of Mérida, Trujillo, Lara and Yaracuy, where military, police and civilians were mobilized early on in exercises coordinated by the Comprehensive Defense Operational Zones (ZODI).
“We are completing all the preparation to reach the optimal state of comprehensive defense of our homeland, in perfect union of all our people to win peace and exercise sovereignty,” Maduro stated through his Telegram channel.
Independence Plan 200 expanding
The Independencia 200 plan was announced in September and has been progressively activated in more than a dozen regions of the country, especially in coastal and border areas, such as Táchira, Amazonas and Nueva Esparta.
The president maintains that the plan reinforces “civil-military-police unity” in a context in which Washington maintains a naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea. According to Caracas, this presence seeks to promote a “regime change” and take over Venezuela’s natural resources.
“We prepare in perfect popular-military-police fusion to make our homeland impregnable,” emphasized the head of state.
America’s response
Washington, for its part, justifies its operation in the Caribbean as part of a regional strategy against drug trafficking from South America. However, the Venezuelan government considers this action an attempt at “intimidation” and a pretext to justify an eventual intervention.
On Thursday, the plan was also activated in the state of Apure, bordering Colombia, where Chavista governor Wilmer Rodríguez highlighted that the objective is to “guarantee the sovereignty, peace and protection of the people.”
Maduro added that 6.2 million citizens are part of the Bolivarian Militia, integrated into the national defense system, and reiterated that “the defense of the homeland is everyone’s task, not just the authorities.”
