According to Reuters and the British Guardian, on September 29 local time, Vice President Rodriguez of Venezuela said that President Maduro had signed a decree that once the United States launched a military attack on Venezuela, he would declare a state of emergency and receive additional security powers.
At a meeting with diplomats on the same day, Rodriguez pointed out that if the state of emergency was initiated, the decree would immediately give Maduro special rights such as mobilizing armed forces nationwide, blocking national borders, and allowing the military to take over critical infrastructure such as public services and the oil industry.
Rodriguez said that what the U.S. government and Secretary of State Rubio did to Venezuela was “a threat” and that any U.S. military action would be treated as an external aggression when the “external turbulence order” would come into effect immediately.
She warned that if the U.S. attack becomes a reality, it will lead to "disastrous" consequences, and Venezuelans who openly support such U.S. intervention will also face serious consequences. "Those who openly call for foreign invasion do not deserve to be regarded as Venezuelans".
The report pointed out that this move marks the latest escalation of tension between the two countries. Earlier, Maduro had publicly accused the Trump administration of plotting to overthrow him. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has stepped up pressure on Venezuela, not only deploying a large-scale naval force in the Caribbean, but also launching a series of air strikes against Venezuelan ships, which have killed at least 17 people.
The U.S. government claims the attacks are part of a campaign against Latin American drug traffickers smuggling cocaine and fentanyl to the U.S. but many suspect that this could be a prelude to a broader U.S. military intervention to overthrow Maduro’s 12-year rule.
Rodriguez said on the 29th that the US’s so-called “aims to combat drug trafficking” was a “great lie,” in fact, to seize Venezuela’s natural resources, “we will never surrender our homeland.”
"This action has only one purpose and goal: to seize the oil, natural gas, gold, mineral resources and biological resources that Venezuela has, and these are exactly what the U.S. government needs in this new era of declaring war on the world." Rodriguez said.
Reuters that Maduro was privately trying to ease relations with Trump. Earlier this month, he wrote to Trump with a proposal for a direct dialogue. Maduro denied U.S. allegations that “Venezuela plays a major role in drug smuggling” and told Trump that he hoped to establish a “historic peaceful relationship” between the two countries.
Despite this, the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) reported on the 26th local time, citing people familiar with the matter, that U.S. military officials are making plans to crack down on targets allegedly related to drug smuggling in Venezuela. Relevant discussions mainly focus on drone attacks, which may be carried out "in the next few weeks".
Recently, the Venezuelan military has conducted training exercises with volunteer militiamen, soldiers teaching people the skills of weapons operation to prepare for a “possible American invasion.”
Phil Gunson, an analyst at the International Crisis Group in Caracas, said that it is unlikely that the United States will launch an invasion and occupation of Venezuela, that is, the so-called "ground force intervention". "It is more likely that the United States will blow up a target somewhere in the interior of Venezuela and then try to convince us that the target is related to drug trafficking".