‘I haven’t said I’ll do it, but I’d be proud to do it; because we will save millions of lives by doing this’, emphasized the American president
The president stated this Monday (17) that he would authorize an attack on Mexican soil against drug cartels, if necessary, and also said that “at some point” he will talk to his Venezuelan counterpart, . Amid US bombings in the Caribbean and the Pacific against speedboats that, according to Washington, transport drugs, the president was questioned by reporters in the Oval Office about his offensive against drug trafficking. Asked whether he would approve a United States anti-drug operation in Mexico, the Republican responded: “I would launch attacks in Mexico to stop [o tráfico de] drugs? By me, ok. Whatever it takes to stop the drugs.”
“I didn’t say I will do it, but I would be proud to do it. Because we will save millions of lives by doing this”, he emphasized. Trump has criticized Mexico for not doing enough against drug cartels. The Republican also drastically increased the number of US forces in the Caribbean with the argument of confronting drug traffickers based in several Latin American countries, including Venezuela and Mexico.
Asked about the Venezuelan president, he stated: “At some point, I will speak to him”, although Maduro “has not been good for the United States”, he added. When asked if he ruled out sending American troops to Venezuela, Trump responded: “No, I don’t rule it out, I don’t rule it out at all.”
Trump’s statements come amid tensions over the United States’ military deployment in the Caribbean to combat drug trafficking. Venezuela sees this operation as a step towards overthrowing Maduro, accused by Washington of leading a “terrorist” organization dedicated to drug trafficking, which the Venezuelan president denies. “We have to deal with Venezuela,” said Trump. “They sent hundreds of thousands of people from their prisons to our country,” he assured.
The American military mobilization in the Caribbean and the Pacific includes a group made up of an aircraft carrier, warships and several stealth planes. The United States has already carried out around twenty attacks on vessels in the region, with at least 83 fatalities.
*With information from AFP
