The White House said Trump is willing to โuse every element of American powerโ when asked about the possibility of U.S. boots on the ground in Venezuela.
President Donald Trump is prepared to use all aspects of American power to stop drug trafficking from Latin America, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at an Aug. 19 White House press briefing, when asked about the possibility of U.S. troops being deployed in Venezuela.
A reporter asked whether the United States is โlooking at, possibly, boots on the ground there,โ in light of reports on U.S. warships operating near Venezuela and around 4,000 U.S. Marines on board.
โWhat I will say, with respect to Venezuela, President Trump has been very clear and consistent; heโs prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,โ Leavitt began her response.
Leavittโs comment came a day after The Epoch Times confirmed, with a White House source familiar with the matter, reports that U.S. naval and air assets would deploy to the southern Caribbean Sea as part of a heightened counternarcotics effort. Such a deployment could place those U.S. assets only a short distance from Venezuelaโs northern coastline.
U.S.-Venezuela relations have been strained for years.
On Aug. 11, 2017, during his first term, President Donald Trump told reporters, โWe have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option, if necessary.โ
The first Trump administration rejected Venezuelaโs 2018 snap presidential election in which the countryโs National Electoral Council declared Nicolรกs Maduro the winner. Trump took the further step of backing then-Venezuelan National Assembly President Juan Guaidรณโs move to position himself as the rightful head of state of Venezuela until new elections could be held.
Guaidรณ led a short-lived attempted uprising against Maduro on April 30, 2019.
Trump hosted Guaidรณ at his 2020 State of the Union Address and again the next day at the White House.
On March 26, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice stated Maduro was linked to both drug and arms trafficking and began offering a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
By Ryan Morgan