President Donald Trump responded vaguely on Sunday to questions about the possibility of the United States striking mainland Venezuela as well as additional drug-smuggling boats, amid rising tensions between the two nations.
Trump answered several questions about Venezuela while speaking with reporters in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday, including the possibility of striking the country and whether he is concerned about President Nicolás Maduro escalating the situation.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said on Sunday, responding to a question about the possibility of a US strike on the Latin American country. “Look, Venezuela sends us its gang members, drug dealers, and drugs. “It is not acceptable.”
The president also stated that the number of boats seen off the coast of Venezuela, where his administration recently increased the US Navy presence, has significantly decreased.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said to reporters for the second time when asked if he plans to launch additional strikes on Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats. “There are certainly not many boats out there. …. “There has been very little boat traffic.
When asked on Sunday if he was concerned about a possible escalation by Maduro, who has labeled some of Trump’s actions illegal, Trump cited the millions of drug deaths that occurred in the United States last year.
“What’s illegal are the drugs on the boat, and the drugs that are being sent into our country and the fact that 300 million people died last year from drugs, that’s what’s illegal,” Trump said in reply.
The remarks by Trump come amid rising tensions following a US military strike earlier this month that blew up a Venezuelan drug boat in the southern Caribbean, killing nearly a dozen suspected Tren de Aragua (TdA) narco terrorists. Venezuela’s foreign minister accused US Navy personnel of boarding a tuna boat carrying nine fishermen in Venezuelan waters on Saturday, according to The Associated Press.
“A lot of drugs are coming from Venezuela. “A lot of Tren de Aragua,” Trump told journalists. “They’re trying to get out, but we’re stopping them successfully at the border in Venezuela.”
In February, the Trump administration designated drug cartels such as Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa Cartel, and others as foreign terrorist organizations.
