US President Donald Trump said on Monday that it would be “wise” for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down. He strongly warned that any “hard” game would have serious and lasting consequences for the Venezuelan leader, reports TASR according to the AFP agency.
- Donald Trump advised Nicolás Maduro to step down as president of Venezuela.
- Trump warned Maduro of the possible consequences of his tough decisions.
- Maduro responded to Trump’s claims with a recommendation to solve American problems.
- The US has increased military pressure on Venezuela by moving troops to the Caribbean.
- Maduro accused Trump of trying to control Venezuela’s oil reserves.
Asked by reporters at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, if Washington’s threats to Caracas were intended to end Maduro’s 12-year rule, Trump replied: “It’s up to him what he wants to do. I think it would be wise for him to do that.”
“If he’s going to do something — if he plays hard, it’ll be the last time he can play hard.” he added. According to AFP, Maduro himself immediately responded to Trump’s latest statements in his address by saying to Venezuelan television that US president ‘would be better off’ if instead of threatening Caracas, he focused on his domestic affairsprimarily economic and social, writes AFP.
Since the beginning of September, Trump has significantly increased the pressure on the government of the Venezuelan president, whom he accuses of supporting the drug trade. In recent weeks, the US has moved its largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, as well as other warships and long-range bombers. Maduro claims that Trump wants to oust him under the pretext of fighting drugs and gain control of Venezuela’s oil reserves. The biggest consumer of Venezuelan oil is China.
