The president of the United States made the statement during an interview with ’60 Minutes’, in which he suggested that the end of the Chavista regime is approaching.
MADRID, Spain.- US President Donald Trump declared that the days of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro “are numbered,” during an interview broadcast this Sunday by the program 60 Minutes from CBS News.
When asked directly by journalist Norah O’Donnell about whether Maduro’s days as president were numbered, Trump responded: “I would say yeah. I think so, yeah.” (“I would say yes. I think so.”)
The statement occurred in a context of growing tension between Washington and Caracas, marked by US operations in the Caribbean under the argument of combating drug trafficking. Although his words were interpreted as a warning to the Venezuelan regime, Trump avoided confirming whether his administration is contemplating military action.
“I’m not going to tell you that. I’m not saying it’s true or false, but, you know, I wouldn’t be inclined to say I would do that,” he responded when asked about a possible intervention.
During the interview, Trump also linked his government’s actions in the region to issues of security, drug trafficking and immigration control, without making specific reference to new operations in Venezuelan territory.
Trump, who has maintained a hard line towards Chavismo since his first term, thus once again placed Venezuela at the center of the regional geopolitical debate, while insisting that “the end of the Maduro dictatorship is near.”
Last August the United States Government offered a reward of 50 million dollars for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of Maduro, after accusing him of being “leader of the Cartel of the Suns” and directly linking him to terrorist and drug trafficking activities.
The announcement, framed in the Narcotics Rewards Program (NRP), is also supported by the United States’ refusal to recognize Maduro’s supposed re-election in the July 28, 2024 elections.
