Caracas, Sept. 9 -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused the United States of disguising its pursuit of the country's vast oil and mineral wealth under the banner of anti-narcotics operations, warning that Caracas will defend its sovereignty against any escalation.
Maduro claimed that Washington's military buildup in the Caribbean was motivated not by the fight against drug trafficking but by Venezuela's natural resources.
"We have the fourth-largest natural gas reserves, spread throughout the entire Caribbean basin, which is why they sent their ships there. We possibly have the largest gold reserves in the world. And that's not all-30 million hectares of fertile land, water," he told RT.
Maduro added that Venezuela's oil rese...