President Maduro's Message To Trump: No More War, Peace And Peace

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro/PHOTO via Instagram @nicolasmaduro

JAKARTA - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said the people of the United States must unite with Venezuela for the sake of American peace.

This exclusive interview with CNN comes amid rising tensions with the US, which is deploying warships to the Caribbean to target what it claims as a drug smuggling vessel from Venezuela.

Although Washington insists the increasing military force aims to stop the flow of narcotics into the United States, Caracas believes the US is actually trying to force a regime to change.

Maduro urged the US not to enter another prolonged conflict, by asking its people in Spanish: "United for peace (American). There is no more endless war. There is no more unfair war. No more Libya. No more Afghanistan," he said.

When asked if he had a message for US President Donald Trump, Maduro replied in English: "Yes, peace, yes, peace."

Maduro did not directly answer whether he was concerned about possible aggression from the US. Instead, he simply replied that he focused on ruling his country peacefully.

Maduro attended a massive demonstration for Venezuelan youth, which he then urged against what he called an invasion threat from the US.

Over the past three months, the US has amassed about 15,000 personnel in the Caribbean along with more than a dozen warships, including aircraft carriers described as the US Navy's deadliest combat platform.

The increase in power, which is considered the largest US military presence in the region since the Panamanian invasion in 1989, has sparked speculation that the US may be preparing for a greater conflict.

To date, the US has carried out 20 attacks on ships suspected of being drug smugglers in the Caribbean and the Pacific, killing 80 people.