Trump again suggests ground action in Venezuela

“To journalists at the White House, Trump stated the previous day that his government’s current pressure campaign on Venezuela “is about many things” and, again, pointed to topics such as illegal immigration, drug trafficking and oil, in reference to the Venezuelan oil tanker that Washington seized on Wednesday and whose cargo of crude oil it plans to confiscate.

“One of them is the fact that they have allowed millions of people into our country, including prisoners, drug traffickers and people in psychiatric institutions, probably at a greater rate than any other country,” Trump said.

The American president also denounced once again that the Nicolás Maduro regime and the Army in Venezuela are involved in sending drugs to the United States and highlighted that military operations to destroy speedboats used by drug traffickers in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific have reduced drug trafficking on these routes by 92%.

Maritime traffic has fallen by 92% and no one can figure out who the remaining 8% are, because I have no idea. Anyone involved in this right now is not getting along. And we will resolve this on land too. It will start soon,” he said.

Venezuela’s dictator, in turn, stated on Thursday that the United States wants to “steal” his country’s oil, after Donald Trump’s government intercepted and confiscated a ship loaded with crude oil near the waters of the South American country.

“That’s why I say, yesterday the mask fell (…) it’s the oil they want to steal, and Venezuela will defend its sovereignty over its natural resources, and we will triumph again, the victory belongs to us today, tomorrow and forever”, said the Chavista in a political event in a community in Caracas broadcast on the state television channel VTV.