Venezuela's Interior, Justice, and Peace Minister Diosdado Cabello urged citizens to be ready "on all fronts" in response to the growing U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, hours after U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Puerto Rico.
Cabello, one of the most powerful figures in the Nicolás Maduro regime, delivered the message during a press conference broadcast by state television. The U.S. reward for information regarding his capture is 25 million dollars.
"We are not calling for any kind of war, nor do we want war with anyone. But our people must be prepared and alert, in every instance, on every front, in every way and form," Cabello declared. He added, according to local newspaper El Nacional, that those who act as "Trojan horses" inside Venezuela would face the same fate as the country's enemies, though he did not elaborate.
#ÚLTIMAHORA | El ministro del Interior de Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, pide a los venezolanos prepararse en "todos los frentes" ante el despliegue de EE.UU. en el Caribe. pic.twitter.com/BJ6bKlbDzH
— EFE Noticias (@EFEnoticias) September 8, 2025
The warning coincided with the arrival of U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in Puerto Rico. Hegseth, accompanied by General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was received at Muñiz Air Base by Puerto Rican governor Jenniffer González. He addressed about 300 American troops stationed on the island, assuring them of support from President Donald Trump and the Department of War. "The men and women in our Department will be the best prepared," Hegseth said, calling the service members "American warriors."
Honored to welcome Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) along with General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (@thejointstaff) to Puerto Rico.
— Jenniffer González (@Jenniffer) September 8, 2025
We thank @POTUS Trump and his Administration for recognizing the strategic value Puerto Rico has to the national… pic.twitter.com/vlrDK6Y5Oy
Washington has framed the troop deployment in Puerto Rico as part of its strategy to combat narcotics trafficking across the Caribbean. Yet Caracas sees the maneuvers as a threat aimed directly at the Maduro government, which has faced years of U.S. sanctions and criminal indictments against senior officials.
Cabello's remarks reflect the heightened sense of confrontation. U.S. prosecutors have accused him and other Venezuelan leaders of drug trafficking and corruption, charges they deny. For years, Caracas has used American military activities in the region as evidence of what it calls "imperialist aggression."
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