“No, I’m not ruling that out. I’m not ruling anything out. What we need to do is deal with the Venezuela problem. They’ve sent hundreds of thousands of people from their prisons into our country,” President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office on November 17, when asked whether he excluded the option of sending U.S. troops to Venezuela.
The White House leader has also kept the door open for dialogue with Venezuela’s leadership amid rising tensions, as the U.S. increases its military presence in the Caribbean to counter drug-trafficking networks.
“At some point, I will talk to him,” Trump said, adding that Venezuela’s leader “has not behaved well toward the U.S.” Washington has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a “narco-terrorist cartel,” an allegation Maduro denies. Caracas, meanwhile, has criticized Washington for boosting its military forces in the Caribbean, including a carrier strike group, multiple warships, and several stealth aircraft.
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Besides Venezuela, Trump also criticized Mexico for failing to effectively stop drug-trafficking gangs. “Would I launch airstrikes in Mexico to stop the drugs? For me, that option is not a problem. Whatever we need to do to block the drugs, we’ll do,” Trump said. “I’m not saying I will do it, but I would be proud if I did, because it would save millions of lives,” he added.
The Trump administration has launched anti-drug operations off the coast of Venezuela and in the Western Pacific, asserting that the U.S. is in a state of war with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. At least 83 people have been killed in raids on “drug-smuggling boats” since the operation began in September.