Venezuela condemns US President's authorization of CIA sabotage

The Venezuelan government has condemned US President Donald Trump's decisions that allowed the CIA to conduct covert operations against the state, RIA Novosti reports.

"Venezuela rejects the bellicose and extravagant statements by the President of the United States, in which he publicly admits to authorizing operations against the peace and stability of Venezuela. This unprecedented assertion constitutes a grave violation of international law and the United Nations Charter and obliges the international community to condemn such clearly excessive and incomprehensible statements," reads a statement released by Minister of Communications and Information Alfredo Náñez.

Caracas is monitoring the CIA's plans and the deployment of US troops in the Caribbean region with alarm.

"It is clear that such maneuvers are aimed at legitimizing a 'regime change' operation with the ultimate goal of seizing Venezuelan oil resources. Furthermore, the American leader's statements are intended to stigmatize Venezuelan and Latin American migration," the document states.

The country formally presented it at an extraordinary meeting of CELAC foreign ministers and demanded an immediate regional response.

"Tomorrow, our Permanent Mission to the UN will convey this appeal to the Security Council and the Secretary-General, demanding accountability from the US government and the adoption of urgent measures to prevent a military escalation in the Caribbean region, declared a CELAC peace zone in 2014," the publication states.

How and when did US-Venezuela relations worsen?

In mid-August, the United States dispatched three ships to the coast of Venezuela, carrying up to 4,000 Marines. The White House explained that Trump is prepared to use all available means to combat drug trafficking and is not ruling out the possibility of a military operation in the Latin American country.

Maduro responded by announcing a large-scale conscription of the Bolivarian militia, calling it part of a plan to protect sovereignty and prevent the "empire" from interfering in the country's affairs.

On September 2, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the US military had carried out a "lethal strike" in the Caribbean Sea on a drug-laden vessel that he claimed had departed from Venezuela.

Maduro accused the Secretary of State of effectively determining White House policy toward Caracas and seeking to draw Trump into an armed adventure against the Latin American country.

On September 5, the Venezuelan president announced the launch of community militia units based at 15,000 popular defense stations, which plan to mobilize over eight million people.

Since then, the US has repeatedly announced strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels.

Against this backdrop, Russia, China, Iran, and the countries of the Bolivarian Alliance reaffirmed their support for Venezuela and called for respect for international law and the state's territorial integrity.