US President Donald TrumpHe insisted on Tuesday that US attacks would begin “very soon.” Against drug smuggling gangs inside Venezuelan territory, after the operation against boats in the Caribbean, which are accused of transporting drugs.
He warned that any country smuggles drugs into the United States.”is being attacked.”
“I heard that Colombia, the country of Colombia, produces cocaine. They have manufacturing plants, okay? Then they sell us the cocaine. “But yes, anyone who does this and sells it to our country is vulnerable to attack, not necessarily just Venezuela,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with his cabinet at the White House.
“It’s much easier on the ground. We know the routes they take. We know everything about them. We know where they live. We know where the bad guys live. And we’ll start doing that very soon, too,” the president told reporters during a meeting with his cabinet at the White House.
Trump has been thinking about attacking people in Venezuela for weeksIn what would represent a major escalation of a campaign focused solely on attacking ships that officials say are transporting drugs to the United States.
His comments today mirror those he made Thursday, when he told service members during a Thanksgiving call that efforts were being made On Earth will begin “very soon.”
Possible attacks on Venezuelan territory would mean an expansion of the military operation Lanza del Sur, which began from September until now. 21 ships destroyed in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific It is suspected of transporting drugs, in which 82 crew members died, the Pentagon said today.
The US military deployment in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, one of the largest in recent decades, has increased pressure on the government of the Venezuelan president. Nicolas Maduro, whom Trump accuses of leading the Sun CartelWhich Washington has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
Last October, Trump also criticized his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro. Which he also refers to as a “drug smuggling kingpin.” US aid to that country was suspended due to its alleged failure to combat drugs.
Petro denies the accusations and calls Trump a… “Rude and ignorant towards Colombia.” He also rejected the US military deployment as “interference” and denounced the attacks against boats, some of which were carried out in the eastern Pacific Ocean, near the Colombian coast.
The administration has come under intense scrutiny in recent days over its conduct in that attack, including revelations that it had carried out a second attack on a ship. After the initial attack failed to kill everyone on board.
But Trump on Tuesday defended those measures and said the campaign was necessary to keep drugs out of the United States, adding that it would be “much easier” to attack targets on the ground. He also refused to rule out attacking people in countries other than Venezuela if the government determines they are smuggling drugs into the United States.
Trump held a meeting on Monday with his senior ministers and military commanders to evaluate options in Venezuela, after it emerged that he had a phone conversation with Maduro on November 21. In it, according to the Miami Herald. The American sent a “strong” message to Maduro to leave power.
“You have to leave the country now.”Trump told him and offered safe passage for Maduro, his wife and son “only if he agreed to resign immediately.” Reuters said that the head of the White House gave the Venezuelan dictator until last Friday. This limit has been exceeded.
In the call, Venezuela’s president reportedly refused to resign immediately and, according to the Herald and Reuters, made a series of counter-demands, which It included global immunity for him and 100 other officials from legal actiona transition with Delcy Rodriguez at its helm and allowing her to maintain control of the armed forces. It seems that Trump rejected everything and gave him an ultimatum.
What did Maduro do when the deadline expired? He danced defiantly in front of a large crowd of his followers in Caracas In a Trump-style foreign event, he debunked earlier rumors that he had responded to American requests to leave the country. “We don’t want the peace of the slaves, nor the peace of the colonies,” Maduro shouted, wearing a red Trump-style hat, and dancing with his voice to a remix that he repeated in English and Spanish: “Yes, peace; yes, peace.”