Venezuelan lawmaker Juan Romero, a deputy from the ruling United Socialist Party (PSUV), slammed the U.S. military operation in Caribbean waters, calling it a costly and futile show of force. Speaking in Caracas, Romero claimed that President Trump’s $1.6 billion naval campaign, which destroyed nine vessels alleged to be drug carriers, was part of a “cognitive war” aimed at psychological pressure rather than real military confrontation. He warned that any U.S. strike against Venezuela would be “counterproductive,” citing the country’s 5,000 Igla-S anti-aircraft missiles as a strong deterrent. Romero accused Washington of using “threats, coercion, and pressure” to force Venezuela into negotiations from a weakened position, while reaffirming that Caracas would only engage under “diplomacy for peace.”