President Donald Trump said on Monday that he does not rule out the possibility of sending troops to Venezuela, while at the same time he is ready to listen directly to Nicolas Maduro about the Venezuelan leader’s proposals to avoid a new US military escalation.
In response to a question about whether he ruled out the possibility of sending American forces to the South American country, Trump said: “No, I do not rule it out, I do not rule it out at all.”
However, when asked if he would speak directly with Maduro, Trump told reporters at the White House: “Maybe I will talk to him, yes. I talk to everyone.”
When asked about Trump’s comments on Monday, Maduro said that differences should be resolved through diplomacy and that he was willing to hold direct talks with anyone interested.
“In the United States, anyone who wants to talk to Venezuela will talk face to face without any problem,” Maduro said on his weekly television program.
The United States is carrying out a campaign of attacks against suspected drug smuggling boats off the Venezuelan coast and the Pacific coast of Latin America.
Maduro has repeatedly claimed that the US military buildup in the Caribbean is aimed at removing him from power.
Taken together, Trump’s statements indicate that he is willing to significantly escalate the confrontation between his government and Venezuela, even if he is open to seeking a way out if he receives a sufficiently interesting proposal from the Venezuelan government.
The US President also said he would like to end cocaine factories in Colombia, but stopped short of announcing any direct military intervention in the country.
A senior White House official told Reuters that while Trump has focused his Venezuela efforts on stemming the flow of drugs, he also recognizes that the country – which has the world’s largest known oil reserves – is “an extremely resource-rich country.”
“Just because the president may be interested in hearing what Venezuela has to say, that does not take his military options off the table,” cautioned the official, who requested anonymity to discuss the diplomatic talks.
The official said there are many advantages Venezuela can offer U.S. companies, although the top priority now is ending drug trafficking.
The Trump administration on Sunday designated the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization. The United States claimed that the group consisted of high-ranking Venezuelan officials, including Maduro.
Some independent researchers have stated that although Venezuelan authorities are involved in drug trafficking, there is little evidence of a top-down hierarchical organization that could conventionally be called a cartel.
The Pentagon reported on Sunday, before Trump’s recent statements, that the US Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, carrying 5,000 soldiers, dozens of warplanes, and its strike group, had moved to the Caribbean. This is in addition to the eight warships, a nuclear submarine and an F-35 aircraft that have already been sent to the region.
So far, the Trump administration has focused its efforts on bombing boats believed to be carrying drugs and sailing off the coast of Venezuela and other Latin American countries.
Human rights groups condemned these attacks and described them as extrajudicial killings of civilians. The White House says the United States is at war with drug cartels and that courts are not necessary in armed conflicts.
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