MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

The US Navy is “not going to intimidate us”

Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said Wednesday that the United States military exercises in the Caribbean “are not going to intimidate us”.

"If they want to intimidate us, they are going to fail, because they are not going to achieve their purpose", insisted Mr. Rangel.

A U.S. Navy battle group that includes the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington is on maneuvers in the Caribbean Sea. Dubbed "Partnership of the Americas" the exercises are sponsored by the U.S. Army's Southern Command and include more than 6,500 servicemen from the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group.

"Intimidation times in the world are over. We're going to see how close (to Venezuela) the ships sail" Rangel told reporters after a ceremony marking the 196th anniversary of the beginning of the independence movement in Venezuela.

The U.S. naval exercise in combination with forces from other regional countries began early this month and is scheduled to end in May.

In response to a question about forces from other Caribbean states taking part in the exercises, Rangel said those vessels were "canoes" compared to the U.S. carrier group.