The Minister of Defense of Venezuela, Vladimir Padrino López, rejected this Monday the execution of naval training in the Colombian Caribbeanby Colombia and the United States.
«Drug trafficking, the war in Arauca, systematic murders and terrorist groups cannot be fought with nuclear submarines. I reject it categorically,” said Padrino López in a message posted on his Twitter account regarding naval training.
Colombia and the United States held naval exercises on Monday in the Colombian Caribbean that “ratify the mutual trust” between the two nations, said Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano.
“Especially this exercise is done within the ambit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In the case of Colombia as a global partner country of NATO and of course the United States,” the head of Defense told reporters when referring to the activities carried out this weekend.
Molano recalled that in the Caribbean Sea there are common interests such as efforts once morest drug trafficking. In which 40 countries join forces to seize cocaine and other illicit drugs.
The minister explained “that the aim is to adapt the best international standards in the development of maritime operations. And in the development of joint actions».
From somewhere in the Colombian Caribbean and aboard the Colombian frigate ARC Independiente, Molano stressed that for the first time in the history of naval cooperation between the two countries, the United States participated in these maneuvers with a nuclear submarine, the USS Minnesota.
Padrino López described the naval training as an “imperialist ostentation”
He stressed that the main message to be sent with this naval exercise “is that here we have the capabilities of our Navy and our Military Forces. Which allow Colombia to be the only country in Latin America as a global partner of NATO.
In addition to the nuclear submarine, the naval exercise included the littoral combat ship (LCS) USS Billings and the Colombian submarine ARC Pijao. Also the frigates ARC Independiente and ARC Almirante Padilla, as well as two maritime patrol planes and two helicopters.
In this regard, the Venezuelan official described the activity as an “imperialist ostentation.”
“Why so much imperialist ostentation? Is it a replica of the Nato expansion (of NATO) in the Mediterranean of America?” asked Padrino.
Why so much imperialist ostentation? Is it a replica of the NATO expansion in the Mediterranean of America? Drug trafficking, the war in Arauca, systematic murders and terrorist groups cannot be fought with nuclear submarines. I reject it categorically. pic.twitter.com/aDeLONv5AO
– Vladimir Padrino L. (@vladimirpadrino) February 28, 2022
