Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro dismissed US accusations that he is a “drug trafficker” and proposed talks with US President Donald Trump, according to a letter released Sunday by Caracas as tensions escalate between the two countries.The letter, dated September 6 and addressed to Trump, was sent shortly after the United States deployed warships off Venezuela’s coast and launched the first of several strikes on vessels Washington alleged were carrying drugs. Two more attacks have taken place since then.Also Read – ‘Monsters’: Trump demands Venezuela repatriate prisoners from US; warns of ‘incalculable’ consequences“It (the drug trafficker allegation) is the worst fake news that has been launched against our country in an escalation in an armed conflict that would do catastrophic damage to the whole continent,” Maduro wrote, according to AFP. He urged Trump to “keep the peace with dialogue and understanding in the entire hemisphere.”Washington does not recognize Maduro, who has ruled since 2013 after Hugo Chávez’s death, as Venezuela’s legitimate president. His 2024 re-election was widely dismissed by the opposition and international community as fraudulent. The US military deployment has stirred condemnation across Latin America, fuelling fears of an American attack on Venezuela. The operation involves eight warships and a nuclear-powered submarine stationed in the southern Caribbean, as well as 10 fighter jets sent to nearby Puerto Rico, a US territory. The strikes have also sparked debate over their legality, since drug trafficking is not a capital offense under US law. Instead of seizing vessels and arresting their crews, the US military has been destroying boats outright — a departure from standard anti-drug enforcement procedures.
