Exclusive by Stefano Pozzebon, Osmary Hernandez, Rocio Muñoz, CNN

Caracas (CNN) — Venezuela is not seeking a military confrontation with the United States or any other regional actor, its Foreign Minister Yván Gil told CNN in a rare interview, as tensions rise with Washington, including over the recent deadly US Navy strike on a vessel allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean.

“We are not betting on conflict, nor do we want conflict,” Gil said during the interview from the Casa Amarilla, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry headquarters in Caracas, on Monday.

The relationship between the US and Venezuela has long been precarious. But it has become particularly fraught under the two administrations of President Donald Trump who has taken a hardline against his counterpart Nicolas Maduro, including recognizing the country’s opposition leader following a widely criticized election.

CNN interviewed Gil as US military ships deploy to the Caribbean and after Washington announced the doubling of the reward for the arrest of Maduro to $50 million.

And on Tuesday 2 September the US carried out a lethal strike on a speedboat it said was carrying drugs in international waters and had departed from Venezuela, fueling suspicions in Caracas that Washington is trying to topple the regime of President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro has since mobilized some 4.5 million militiamen to defend the country, in response to what he calls US “imperialism.”

Although he ruled out a military escalation of tensions, the Venezuelan foreign minister said his country is prepared to deter any possible threat.

“We are denying the possibility of conflict because we are prepared to deter any deployment and we have a clear determination to defend our homeland,” he said.

CNN asked Gil why he was calling for the United Nations human rights council to investigate the targeting of the boat, when Venezuela’s government has called the body “two-faced” over its multiple condemnations of Venezuela’s own human rights record.

In response Gil said Venezuela had “never questioned” the defense of human rights, but admitted Venezuela had “criticized the actions of some bureaucrats” in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

OHCHR, the US and other countries have accused the Maduro government of frequent repression of its political opponents, human rights abuses in the country, and the undermining of democracy.

Venezuela questions the US version of speedboat strike

It “would not be appropriate” at this moment to talk about possible military alliances with other Latin American countries and the region since, Gil said, they maintain a “pro-peace” stance.

In this regard, Gil referred to the position of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which recently expressed its “deep concern” about the military deployment in the region.

“The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) issued a firm, categorical statement calling for respect for the peace zone decreed in 2014,” he said.

Among US assets deployed to the Caribbean is a nuclear-powered submarine – which is not equipped with nuclear weapons – officials previously told CNN.

Regarding the US strike on the boat that the Pentagon said was carrying drugs, Gil said that in his opinion, there was no clarity about what happened.

“They (the US officials) showed a video without clarifying many things. It’s not clear where it was, who was on board, or if it really happened or not. The only thing we’ve seen is a video, nothing else,” said the foreign minister.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended President Donald Trump’s order to destroy the boat and warned that this strategy “will happen again,” instead of the alternative of intercepting suspicious vessels.

“The United States has long used established technology to intervene and board drug trafficking boats. But it doesn’t work because these drug cartels know they will lose 2% of their cargo. What will stop them is if they destroy the boats,” the Secretary of State said.

“The same intelligence mechanism was used to determine that a drug trafficking boat was heading to the United States, and instead of intercepting it, by order of the president, it was destroyed. And it will happen again,” he added.

The Venezuelan foreign minister said Washington’s narrative of the incident “seeks to legitimize an illegal action.”

The Trump administration has so far ducked lawmakers and provided a mishmash of public justifications that raise serious questions about the legality of the strike, legal experts and congressional sources have previously told CNN.

Rubio had previously told CNN: “I’m not going to speak for the White House lawyer; suffice it to say that all those steps were taken in advance.”

Gil also rejected recent accusations from the Trump administration that Maduro is the leader of the alleged Cartel of the Suns and, as such, heads purported drug trafficking operations across the continent.

“It is totally false that the Venezuelan state or its leaders have even the slightest relation to drug trafficking,” said Gil, attributing these accusations to political groups in the US seeking to put pressure on Maduro’s government.

“A narrative has been constructed within the United States by the staff surrounding President Trump, trying to link us to drug trafficking. I am concerned, as a Latin American, that this narrative is trying to be imposed,” he said.

“More than 25,000 personnel are deployed on the border with Colombia, in coordination with the Colombian state, combating drug trafficking,” he told CNN.

Any solution to the current US-Venezuela tensions must be political, Gil said, and reiterated that the way forward is dialogue. He also echoed Maduro’s statements about the existence of “damaged” but open communication channels.

“After having sent eight ships to destroy a rock, let them (the US) ask themselves if it’s worth it. We are not going to give up, we will continue here, governing, advancing, building, happily,” he added.

The-CNN-Wire
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