White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine this Tuesday (16) that US President Donald Trump intends to continue his military campaign against Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro until his resignation.
“He wants to keep blowing up boats until Maduro surrenders,” Wiles said.
Previously, Trump said that Maduro’s “days are numbered” and a CNN reported that the government has been discreetly planning what would happen if he were deposed.
During the interview, Wiles suggested that he hid the true objective of his attacks, legally questionable, against suspected drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Although Trump said the objective is to prevent drugs from reaching the United States, Wiles indicated that it is about putting pressure on the dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
The chief of staff also stated that Trump would need Congressional approval for a land war in Venezuela — something the president has already denied.
“If he authorized any activity on land, it would be war, and then (we would need) Congress,” she said.
When Trump was asked about this last month, he said, “We don’t need their approval. But I think it’s good for them to know.”
US offensive in the Caribbean and Pacific
In recent months, the US has intensified operations against vessels suspected of drug trafficking off the coast of Venezuela.
In total, more than 20 attacks were launched on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing more than 80 people.
Washington has already gathered around 15 thousand soldiers in the regionalong with more than a dozen warships.
Maduro, in power since 2013, has stated that Trump is trying to overthrow him and that Venezuelan citizens and the military will resist any attempt to do so.
