Fully prepared to respond to any imperialist threat

Maduro said - We have 5,000 missiles, which will protect the peace and freedom of the country. These missiles have been deployed to prevent short-range attacks in the air.

He also said that these weapons are to respond to any imperialist threat and the Venezuelan army is ready to defend its homeland.

America's repeated attacks on Venezuelan boats

America has long been against Maduro. President Donald Trump has sent some naval vessels near the Venezuelan coast, which the US has described as an operation against drugs.

The US has also destroyed some boats. It alleges that these boats were carrying drugs. However, Venezuela has denied these allegations.

Venezuela says that this American operation is an attack on their freedom

$420 million reward on Maduro

On August 7, the US placed a $50 million (about 420 crore rupees) bounty on Maduro. In addition, over $700 million in assets linked to him have been seized, including two private jets.

The Trump administration alleges that Maduro is a drug trafficker and is sending fentanyl-laced cocaine to the US in collaboration with drug cartels. US officials say Maduro possesses 7 tons of cocaine, which he is preparing to send to the US.

Maduro was accused of narco-terrorism in 2020

Maduro was charged in 2020 in a Manhattan federal court with narco-terrorism and conspiracy to traffic cocaine.

At that time, the Trump administration had offered a $15 million reward for his arrest. This was later increased to $25 million by the Biden administration. The US had offered a similar reward for the arrest of Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks.

Maduro has been in power in Venezuela since 2013. The US, European Union, and Latin American countries have consistently accused him of electoral fraud. These countries accused Maduro of rigging the 2024 presidential election.

The US has imposed several sanctions on Venezuela

There have been political differences between Venezuela and the United States for several decades. Venezuela criticizes America's capitalist and foreign policies, while the United States has expressed displeasure over human rights violations in Venezuela.

Oil reserves were discovered in Venezuela almost 100 years ago. Just 20 years after the discovery of oil, Venezuela became one of the world's largest oil exporting countries. It came to be known as the Saudi Arabia of Latin America.

In the 1950s, Venezuela was the fourth richest country in the world, but today the condition of this country has deteriorated. 75 percent of the country's population is living below the poverty line. According to the BBC, about 7.5 million people have left the country in the last 7 years.

In fact, Venezuela was almost entirely dependent on oil. In the 80s, oil prices started falling. The fall in prices also brought down Venezuela's economy. Due to government policies, Venezuela started failing to repay its debt.

Later, even when oil prices rose, he could not take advantage of it. In 2015, Venezuela's situation worsened further due to US sanctions.