During the interview with the program 60 Minutes, shown on Sunday (2), President Donald Trump stated that he doubted that the United States would go to war with Venezuela, but reinforced that the Nicolás Maduro regime “its days are numbered”.
“I doubt it. I don’t think so,” Trump responded, when asked about the possibility of war. “But they have treated us very badly,” he said.
Trump, which reinforces the view that Washington maintains hybrid pressure on the Maduro government, combining military operations, economic sanctions and intelligence measures.
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“I would say yes. I think his days are numbered,” Trump responded, when asked if Maduro would still remain in power.
When asked about the possibility of attacks on land, the president avoided confirming or denying: “I don’t talk to reporters about whether or not I’m going to attack Venezuela.”
The speech comes amid escalating tensions in the Caribbean, following 15 attacks on suspected drug trafficking vessels in recent weeks, part of a US naval offensive in the Caribbean and East Pacific.
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Trump added that sending the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford to the region is not necessarily a prelude to intervention, but a strategic move: “The aircraft carrier has to be somewhere. It’s big.”
“Venezuela in particular has been bad. They have gangs, the Tren de Aragua — the most violent in the world.”
The president also associated the tightening of actions in the Caribbean with the reduction in the number of illegal immigrants on the southern border and the drop in drug trafficking, saying that each boat “knocked down” prevents “25,000 overdose deaths” in the USA.
Although the government describes the actions as anti-drug operations, American sources cited by CBS admit that the attacks are part of a broader strategy to weaken the Chavista regime.
Specialists in international law and the UN, claiming that the operation goes beyond the limits of an action to combat drug trafficking.
(com CBS e New York Times)
