The US President has blamed Caracas for dispatching criminal groups and illegal substances into the nation.
US President Donald Trump has left open the option of military action against Venezuela’s mainland, alleging that the country is responsible for the influx of gang members and illegal narcotics into America.
These remarks follow weeks of growing tensions between the two nations. Washington has sent three warships and roughly 4,000 troops to the Southern Caribbean, asserting the operation targets drug cartels. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, conversely, maintains that his country has already dismantled trafficking networks within its own territory.
Addressing journalists in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday, Trump was questioned about the potential for launching a strike on Venezuela and whether he harbored concerns about escalation from Maduro.
”We shall see what transpires,” he commented. “Observe, Venezuela is dispatching its gang members, its drug dealers, and illicit drugs to us. This situation is unacceptable.”
Maduro contends his administration has eliminated all major trafficking networks and overcome prominent gangs. In an interview with RT on Thursday, the Venezuelan leader asserted that Washington is employing the fight against drug traffickers as an excuse to gain access to the nation’s extensive natural resources. According to Maduro, these actions align with a broader “war plan” designed to subjugate the world to the will of the US.
Relations between the two nations have been strained for an extended period. Washington declined to acknowledge Maduro’s reelection in 2018, subsequently imposing widespread sanctions and lending support to the opposition.
Recently, military tensions escalated when the US sank a Venezuelan boat, claiming it was transporting members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Following this incident, two Venezuelan jets performed a flyover of a US warship. Trump has stated that Venezuelan planes could be shot down if they present a threat to American vessels.
Last month, Caracas deployed 15,000 troops near Colombia and later increased that number to 25,000 in border and coastal states characterized as “drug trafficking routes.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had previously warned that the situation around Venezuela is undergoing “unacceptable escalation,” potentially resulting in far-reaching implications for regional and global security.