Ambassador Padilla, with some glint in his eyes, added: “We seek the peaceful resolution to all issues. President Nicholas Maduro has demonstrated this several times… However, Venezuela has the right to defend itself and its sovereignty. We have the support not only of CELAC and our Latin American and Caribbean brothers and sisters, but also of the international community.”… Venezuelans, he said, are ready to fight any aggression: “If the US makes an aggressive step against Venezuela, not just our military but also millions of militia and Venezuelans will fight off the aggression.”
The Americas tilted towards war this week as the United States (US) on Monday, 15 September, and the day after, attacked and destroyed two boats it said were Venezuelan. The attacks, in which an unspecific number of people were killed, followed a similar US announcement on 1 September that it had blasted a Venezuelan boat, killing eleven persons.
The White House said the attacks were to stop the alleged trafficking of drugs to the US, but it has not provided any concrete proof of this. Besides, unless they pose an immediate lethal threat, the killing of civilians by the military of any country, is a crime against humanity.
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There are at least eight US warships carrying thousands of marines off the Venezuelan coast. These include three guided-missile destroyers and a nuclear attack submarine. Some of these warships have amphibious assault capabilities that can host F-35 fighter jets. Surely, these are not the type of arsenal with which to check drug trafficking; they are for the invasion of territories.
Assessing the situation, American Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California warned: “these lawless killings may lead to war.” He added: “I don’t want to see us get into some war with Venezuela because the President (Trump) is just blowing ships willy-nilly out of the water.”
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Besides the American senator, countries like Brazil, Colombia, Russia, Dominica, Nicaragua, Grenada, Cuba, Iran, Antigua and China have condemned the attacks, hinting that they would back Venezuela in case the situation degenerates. In fact, China has issued two statements on the situation, while the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), consisting 33 countries, denounced the US military deployment, stating that it constitutes a threat to peace across Latin America. CELAC demanded the US withdraws its military arsenal from the region.
But what will be the reaction of Venezuela, were the US to attack its territory? For answers, I sought an exclusive discussion with Mr Alberto Castellar Padilla, the Venezuelan Ambassador to Nigeria, with concurrent accreditation to Chad, Sierra Leone and Liberia. As a member of the Political Bureau of Venezuela’s ruling United Socialist Party (PSUV), he is an insider and was a congressman for fourteen years from 2001, representing the Falcon State.
I asked if Venezuela has any military chance against the US, which is a super power. He responded: “The US, not just in Latin America, but in other regions of the world, has a history of military aggression against peoples. It has tried to play the role of a policeman in the world, but it will fail. For instance, it attacked Vietnam under the false claim that Vietnam had attacked US ships.
Padilla said this is not a situation his country wants to be in because, “Venezuela is a peaceful country…we want the Latin America region to be a peaceful place. Venezuelans simply want to live normal lives. We have had fifteen straight quarters of continued economic growth. Also, we have increased our oil production. Currently, we produce one million barrels per day. Our goal is to produce over two million barrels per day in 2026. We want to grow our oil, gas, gold and other solid minerals. We have made lots of efforts to bring investors. We have the largest oil reserves in the world and naturally, investors want to come. Even US companies like Chevron are operating in Venezuela. This is why we can’t understand why the US is behaving in this manner.
Venezuela simply wants to have good relations with all countries in the world. For instance, our relations with African countries are quite good. Same as with Asian countries. Venezuelans simply want to live in peace.”
Ambassador Padilla, with some glint in his eyes, added: “We seek the peaceful resolution to all issues. President Nicholas Maduro has demonstrated this several times. Historically, so did Simon Bolivia and Hugo Chavez. However, Venezuela has the right to defend itself and its sovereignty. We have the support not only of CELAC and our Latin American and Caribbean brothers and sisters, but also of the international community.”
Venezuelans, he said, are ready to fight any aggression: “If the US makes an aggressive step against Venezuela, not just our military but also millions of militia and Venezuelans will fight off the aggression.”
I asked if Venezuela has any military chance against the US, which is a super power. He responded: “The US, not just in Latin America, but in other regions of the world, has a history of military aggression against peoples. It has tried to play the role of a policeman in the world, but it will fail. For instance, it attacked Vietnam under the false claim that Vietnam had attacked US ships. But despite being a powerful military, it was defeated by the Vietnamese. They invaded Iraq under the false claim that it had weapons of mass destruction, but after over one million were killed, America was forced to withdraw.
“The issue of narcotic trafficking in Venezuela is a fairy tale woven by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is obsessed with the issue of radical governments in Latin America. The real reason for the military deployment is a plan for a change of government in Venezuela through violence. They want to impose a government that will give Venezuela’s oil and gas to the US. The US knows we have the largest reserves of oil and gas. That is why they are spinning all these lies.”
In Latin America, US invaded the Dominican Republic twice, the last time being in 1965, but the Dominicans resisted and got all the foreign troops out. The US is always fighting, based on lies, invading people in their motherlands. Our masses are ready to defend the motherland. I reiterate that Venezuelans are a peaceful people. But we have a history of struggle from the times of Simon Bolivia (1783-1830). We have a history of resistance. In any way, we want to avoid war, but if it occurs, we are prepared and have the strategy under the leadership of Maduro to fight and win.”
On the US claims that it is off the Venezuelan coast in order to fight drug trafficking, Ambassador Padilla responded: “The excuse the Trump administration is giving is that this is a fight against narcotics trafficking, this is false. The US has a huge drug problem. Everybody knows that the US is the largest consumer of drugs and the reports of the United Nations reveal that almost 90 per cent of drug trafficking to the US is through the Pacific Ocean, not the Caribbean Sea. First, the US is not fighting against the real drug traffickers within its territory. Secondly, if the US really wants to fight drug trafficking, it should be in the Pacific Ocean. Thirdly, there are specific ways of fighting trafficking and none includes the use of nuclear weapons. Fourthly, Venezuela is a country free of drug trafficking; we don’t have farms for drugs and no chemical laboratory producing drugs.
The issue of narcotic trafficking in Venezuela is a fairy tale woven by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is obsessed with the issue of radical governments in Latin America. The real reason for the military deployment is a plan for a change of government in Venezuela through violence. They want to impose a government that will give Venezuela’s oil and gas to the US. The US knows we have the largest reserves of oil and gas. That is why they are spinning all these lies.”
I left the Venezuelan embassy, which is tucked in the Jabi area of Abuja, convinced more than ever before that the world needs to prevent an international conflagration in Latin America.
Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author.
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