CARACAS - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spoke by phone on Saturday about global geopolitics and the military deployment in the Caribbean.

During the phone conversation, the Turkish president "expressed deep concern over the threats recently facing Venezuela, particularly the military deployment and various actions intended to disrupt peace and security in the Caribbean," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said in a statement.

The two leaders exchanged views on global geopolitics and the latest international developments affecting stability and the future of humanity, said the statement.

Maduro said the maneuvers in the Caribbean constitute an "illegal, disproportionate, unnecessary and even extravagant" act of aggression, adding that Venezuela will continue working for peace.

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On bilateral cooperation, Maduro said Venezuela is willing to move forward with Ankara to reach the goal of 3 billion US dollars in trade.

According to the statement, the two sides also agreed on the importance of restoring direct air service between Caracas and Istanbul to facilitate travel for "thousands of tourists and investors."

In late November, Turkish Airlines suspended its operations to Venezuela following a warning issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which urged "extreme caution" when flying over Venezuela and the southern Caribbean.

Maduro also invited Erdogan to visit Venezuela in 2026 for the fifth Joint Cooperation Commission meeting.

Cuba calls US anti-drug war a 'farce'

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Saturday that the pardon granted to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez shows that the anti-drug war declared by the US government "is a farce."

Hernandez, who had been sentenced in the United States to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking and other charges, was released Monday after receiving an official pardon from the Trump administration.

According to Rodriguez, the so-called anti-drug war is an excuse to justify Washington's "costly extraordinary naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and the threat of military aggression to overthrow the legitimate government of Venezuela."

In a post on X, he said that the pardon exposes "the complicity of the US government and its agencies with a vast drug market that claims the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in its own country."

The denunciation comes as the US increases its military presence in the Caribbean Sea. As of Thursday, the Pentagon has carried out at least 22 known strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean since Sept 2, killing more than 87 people aboard.