Venezuela refutes US claims regarding deadly naval strike

BOGOTA, Colombia

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said Thursday that none of the 11 people killed in a US strike on a boat in the Caribbean last week were members of the Tren de Aragua gang as Washington had claimed.

"We have conducted our investigations here in our country, and there are the families of the disappeared people who want their relatives," Cabello said.

"When we asked in the towns, none were from Tren de Aragua, none were drug traffickers.”

Cabello directly contradicted US President Donald Trump, who said the boat was operated by the Tren de Aragua cartel and was carrying drugs bound for the US.

He called the claim a "tremendous falsehood, a tremendous lie," adding that "a murder was committed against a group of citizens."

​​The US military has deployed warships with missiles and a nuclear-powered submarine to the Caribbean near the Venezuelan coast along with 10 F-35 fighter jets to an air base in Puerto Rico as part of a ramped-up effort to combat drug cartels.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro warned Thursday that anyone who calls for an invasion of his country will be "immediately tried" and declared a "traitor to the homeland."

He reiterated that Venezuela would engage in "armed struggle" if attacked by the United States.

"Anyone who calls for bombing or invading the country is a traitor to the homeland and must be tried immediately, wherever they are," he said

Maduro also announced Operation Independencia 200 on 284 "battle fronts" across the country and ordered the mobilization of ships, the enlistment of millions of militia members, and a "special reinforcement" of the military presence in five coastal regions. He called for "guaranteeing all coasts, from end to end, free of imperialists, invaders, and violent groups" and said that if Venezuela has to "fight again," it will do so for its freedom.

"These seas, this land, these neighborhoods, these mountains, these vast expanses, and the riches of these lands belong to the people of Venezuela," the president said. "They will never belong to the American empire."