Caracas, Oct. 19 – President Nicolás Maduro said Venezuela has begun a big military exercise called the “Great Corridor of the Venezuelan Plain.” The drills, part of an “Independence 200” plan, aim to boost the country’s defence amid what officials say is a growing U.S. military presence near Venezuelan waters.
The tests kicked off Saturday morning and covered the central states of Barinas, Portuguesa, Cojedes, and Guárico. Maduro posted on social media that all of the country’s defence zones are now active and that 27 key defence tasks have been completed. He praised the close teamwork between the armed forces, police and civilians, describing it as a “perfect and organised fusion” designed to protect national sovereignty and keep the country stable.
“We want to keep winning along the path of peace,” Maduro said, referencing U.S. forces in the Caribbean. He added that the drills will raise the “optimal level of readiness” for Venezuela’s military, thanks to broad civilian participation and tight territorial coordination.
In a related U.S. story, President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social feed that Washington had destroyed a “drug‑smuggling submarine” in the Caribbean. Trump claimed the boat was loaded with fentanyl and other narcotics and said the strike killed two crew members. The two remaining terrorists, he said, were returned to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia for prosecution.
Trump said the submarine was heading toward U.S. waters on a known drug‑trafficking route and warned that “at least 25,000 Americans would have died” if it had succeeded. The U.S. military has said it has also targeted at least six other vessels in the Caribbean since September, many said to be linked to Venezuela. Washington claims its campaign is a serious blow to international drug networks, though it has not yet produced definitive evidence that the people killed in these operations were indeed traffickers.
Source: ianslive
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