The Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned this Sunday what he称是 an "illegal assault" by U.S. military personnel against a Venezuelan fishing boat in Caribbean waters, an incident that has triggered a wave of reactions in Havana and Caracas amid rising tensions in the region.
"We condemn the assault on a Venezuelan fishing vessel by U.S. military personnel in Venezuela's Exclusive Economic Zone, an illegal act, contrary to International Law, and a cowardly and dangerous provocation," Díaz-Canel wrote on his X account, where he emphasized that "Latin America and the Caribbean is a Zone of Peace."
The most explosive reaction came from his wife and "not the first lady," Lis Cuesta, who accompanied the message with a visceral and direct tone: "Latin America is a zone of peace. Respect the people of Venezuela, damn it!"
However, the expression, charged with anger, was surprising for resembling more a personal outpouring than an official statement.
Cuba stands united with Caracas
The chancellor Bruno Rodríguez had expressed a similar view, denouncing the incident as a “clear violation of International Law” and a “dangerous provocation that threatens the peace of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
According to reports from Euronews, the Venezuelan fishing vessel Carmen Rosa, with nine crew members, was intercepted and held for eight hours by the U.S. destroyer USS Jason Dunham.
The government of Nicolás Maduro denounced that 18 armed individuals occupied the vessel off the coast of La Blanquilla Island, describing it as an attack against “nine humble fishermen.”
The Venezuelan Chancellor Yván Gil warned that it was an attempt to justify "a war escalation" in the Caribbean, while the Foreign Ministry in Caracas labeled the action as "a direct provocation" within the framework of Washington's operations against drug trafficking.
Military escalation in the Caribbean
The incident occurs in parallel with the deployment of five U.S. F-35 fighter jets in Puerto Rico, a move that has sparked protests on the island against the rising militarization. In response, Maduro ordered maneuvers in 312 barracks and units across the country, with thousands of militiamen mobilized under the call of Plan Independence 200.
The crisis is part of an escalation that began last week when another U.S. military operation against a Venezuelan vessel accused of drug trafficking left 11 dead near Trinidad and Tobago.
Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, visited the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima and stated that operations in the Caribbean “are not a training exercise”, while Venezuelan aircraft flew over the USS Jason Dunham. The Pentagon described that incident as “playing with fire.”
Even this Sunday, the Minister of Defense of Venezuela, Vladimir Padrino López, accused U.S. spy planes of conducting intelligence flights over the airspace of his country.
According to him, these operations have tripled in August, taking place during nighttime and early morning hours, with RC-135 aircraft capable of collecting information in real-time and E-3 Sentry AWACS over the Caribbean.
Padrino warned that these maneuvers are part of a plan by Washington to "spark a war in the Caribbean, a war that we Venezuelans and the peoples of the Caribbean do not want."
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