TRUMP TAKES AIM AT VENEZUELA: President Refuses to Rule Out Sending US Troops to Take Down ‘Narcoterrorist’ Maduro Regime
- Donald Trump has not ruled out deploying US ground troops to Venezuela amid a crackdown on the country’s ‘narcoterrorist’ networks
- The US has carried out 21 fatal strikes on boats trafficking narcotics in the waters off Central and South America since September
- Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has indicated he wants talks with the US as tensions between the nations escalate
- Trump has vowed to take action against Maduro’s regime, saying ‘we just have to take care of Venezuela’
In a stark warning to Venezuela’s embattled President Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump has refused to rule out sending US ground troops to the country. The dramatic escalation comes as the US ramps up its crackdown on ‘narcoterrorist’ networks tied to Maduro’s regime.
‘No, I don’t rule out that, I don’t rule out anything,’ Trump said, when asked if he had ruled out deploying US troops to Venezuela. ‘We just have to take care of Venezuela. They dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country from prisons.’
The US has been conducting a series of strikes on boats trafficking narcotics in the waters off Central and South America since September, with at least 21 fatal strikes carried out. The latest strike unfolded on Sunday, as the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford arrived in the Caribbean Sea.
In a shocking development, Maduro has indicated he wants talks with the US, according to Trump. ‘Yeah, I probably would talk to him,’ Trump said. ‘Yeah, I talked to everybody.’
The Trump administration has defended the strikes, saying the US is engaged in an ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels that have evolved into transnational terror organizations. ‘We have a tight border right now,’ Trump said. ‘Nobody comes in. But we had millions of people pouring through a year ago.’
Experts believe the pressure on Venezuela is part of a larger strategy to force Maduro’s ouster and end his regime. ‘Killers. They massacre people,’ said Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem, referring to the Venezuela-based gang Tren de Aragua. ‘They cut them up into pieces and they bury them in their communities where they grew up.’
Trump has designated Tren de Aragua and other drug cartels and transnational gangs as foreign terrorist organizations under an executive order. ‘I love Venezuela. I love the people of Venezuela,’ Trump said. ‘But what they’ve done to this country and I really say this, what Biden and the Democrats have done to this country can never, ever be forgotten.’