US President Donald Trump Denies a Decision to Attack Military Installations in Venezuela
On Tuesday, Trump reiterated that he would stop drugs entering the country “by land” after nearly two months of bombing 15 boats in the Pacific and the Caribbean.
US President Donald Trump denied on Friday that he had decided to attack Venezuela after the Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal reported it. According to US newspapers, the US is preparing to bomb military installations inside Venezuela at any moment in an escalation against the government of Nicolás Maduro. The airstrikes could occur “in a matter of days or even hours,” the Miami newspaper reported, while the New York publication clarified that “the president has not made a final decision on ordering ground bombings.” The offensive seeks to pressure Maduro to relinquish power, according to officials quoted by the media, who also claim the attack is to dismantle the Cartel of the Suns and Venezuela’s drug trafficking networks.
“Potential targets under consideration include military-controlled ports and airports allegedly used for drug trafficking, including naval facilities and airstrips, according to one of the officials,” the Wall Street Journal reported. Meanwhile, the Miami Herald quoted a source as saying that Maduro’s time “is running out,” as now ” there is more than one general willing to capture and hand him over ,” although officials declined to clarify whether the Venezuelan leader would be one of the targets of the bombings. On Tuesday, Trump reiterated that he will stop drugs entering “by land” after nearly two months of bombing 15 boats in the Pacific and the Caribbean, which have left 61 dead and three survivors since September 1. “We are finally waging war against the cartels.
We are waging a war like you have never seen before, and we are going to win this battle. We are already winning it at sea,” the president declared in a speech to U.S. troops in Japan. The information about the bombings on land comes out on the same day that the UN accused the US government of “violating international law” with its attacks on ships at sea, stating that the people on board were victims of “extrajudicial killings.” “These attacks, and their growing human cost, are unacceptable. The United States must put an end to them,” demanded UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
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