Maduro announces military exercises on the Venezuelan border for July 24

[Warlock-]

"We are going to do military exercises for the defense of the Caribbean Sea, of the Venezuelan coasts and of the border," said the president in dispute, Nicolás Maduro.

The president in dispute in Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced on Friday that on July 24 there will be military exercises at the border to "put to the test" national defense plans, between "calls for intervention and war." "We are going to do military exercises for the defense of the Caribbean Sea, of the Venezuelan coasts and of the border," said the president during the traditional military parade in Caracas to commemorate the proclamation of Venezuela's independence. Maduro clarified that the activity seeks to "keep oiled" the "machinery" of the Armed Forces to achieve peace, reiterating complaints about destabilizing plans. The socialist ruler accuses Washington, which does not rule out a military option in the face of the Venezuelan crisis, to seek to overthrow it.

"Enough of conspiracies, (...) plans to destabilize and harm Venezuela, (...) calls for military intervention and war," exclaimed the socialist leader surrounded by the high command, considered his main support. Hours before, the chief of operations of the Armed Forces, Admiral Remigio Ceballos, denounced a "constant siege of exploration" and "electronic intelligence" of the United States near the border and in air and maritime areas under the jurisdiction of Venezuela. So far in 2019, according to Ceballos, "more than 70 incursions into the assigned area of flight control, constantly exploring telecommunications" were detected at the border. There was presence of "air and naval means" in the exclusive economic zone of the oil country, added from the ruling Constituent Assembly, which rules the country with plenipotentiary powers. The Donald Trump administration has issued a battery of sanctions against Venezuelan officials, former officials and entities, including an oil embargo launched in April. The United States is the main ally of opposition leader Juan Guaidó, a parliamentary leader recognized as president in charge of Venezuela by some fifty countries, who says he seeks to expel Maduro from power to install a transitional government that calls for elections.