“We are looking at the earth [de Venezuela] now because we have the sea very well under control,” the US president said this Wednesday.
MIAMI, United States. – The president of the United States, Donald Trump, affirmed this Wednesday that his government “is looking to the ground” to expand actions against drug trafficking networks that operate from Venezuela and defended the recent attacks against vessels off its coasts, while avoiding answering whether the CIA has the authority to remove Nicolás Maduro.
“I don’t want to say exactly, but we are looking at the land now because we have the sea very well under control,” he said when asked by a journalist.
Furthermore, when asked directly about whether the CIA has the authority to “remove Maduro,” he indicated that he did not want to answer “a question like that.” He added, however: “I think Venezuela is feeling the heat.”
Trump’s statements come shortly after The New York Times revealed that Washington had secretly authorized the CIA to carry out covert actions in Venezuela, a step that “intensifies a campaign against Nicolás Maduro,” according to US officials cited by the newspaper.
That authorization would allow the agency to “carry out lethal operations in Venezuela and conduct a series of operations in the Caribbean,” unilaterally or in coordination with a broader military operation. It is not known if the CIA has already planned specific actions, but the US military, for its part, “is developing options for President Trump’s consideration, including possible attacks within the country.”
Trump defended the ongoing maritime campaign against vessels he claimed are transporting drugs. “We have almost completely stopped [el flujo de drogas] through the sea. Now we will stop it by land,” he said. In justifying the attacks, he maintained: “With every ship we attack, we save 25,000 American lives. So every time you see a ship and you feel bad [por la muerte de sus tripulantes]you say, ‘Wow, that’s tough.’ It’s hard, but if you lose three people and save 25,000 people… These are people [los supuestos narcotraficantes] “They are killing our population.”
Asked about the nature of the maritime targets, Trump stated that they were speedboats “ruined with drugs” and that, in these circumstances, “it is fair game.” “They are extremely fast course-type fast boats,” he said. And he added: “They have a lot of money because they are drug sellers.”
According to The New York Times“for weeks, the US military has attacked ships off the Venezuelan coast that it says are transporting drugs, killing 27 people.” Furthermore, “the magnitude of the military deployment in the region is considerable: there are currently 10,000 US troops there, mostly on bases in Puerto Rico, but also a contingent of Marines on amphibious assault ships.”
In total, “the Navy has eight surface warships and one submarine in the Caribbean.”
In the same exchange, Trump linked his decisions to migration and alleged actions of foreign governments: “They have emptied their prisons in the United States of America. They came in across the border. They came in because we had an open border policy.” He assured that “many countries” have done the same, but “not like Venezuela.”
According to The New York Timesthe strategy for Venezuela was “developed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with the help of John Ratcliffe, director of the CIA,” and “aims to oust Maduro from power.” The newspaper recalls that the United States has offered $50 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Maduro on drug trafficking charges.
