President Donald Trump won’t say whether he’s planning military action in Venezuela.
While speaking to reporters Sunday, Trump was asked whether he had plans to strike mainland Venezuela, amid ratcheting tensions with the South American nation.
“Well, we’ll see what happens,” Trump replied. “Look, Venezuela is sending us their gang members, their drug dealers, and drugs. That’s not acceptable.”
Earlier this month, the United States launched a deadly extrajudicial strike on a vessel the government claimed was smuggling drugs. Trump claimed that the strike was an act of “self defense,” although the boat had reportedly turned around by the time it was fired upon.
The Trump administration further attempted to justify sidestepping laws about executing suspected drug smugglers, recast as so-called “narco terrorists,” by claiming it was part of a broader campaign targeting cartels in Venezuela, raising concerns that further military action was imminent.
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil said Saturday that military personnel from a U.S. Navy destroyer boarded a fishing boat in Venezuelan waters for eight hours on Friday, in a “direct provocation” against the South American country.
In a rare interview with CNN, Gil said that Venezuela was not looking for a fight with the United States. “We are not betting on conflict, nor do we want conflict,” he said.
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