But he declined to say whether his goal was to oust Maduro.
By Catholics for Catholics
A war with Venezuela is not out of the question.
President Donald Trump said a possible state of war with Venezuela continues on the table as hostilities intensify in the region.
“I don’t rule it out, no,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview Thursday, according to The Daily Wire.
Trump initiated “a total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela on Tuesday.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday night.
In addition, the Department of War also carries on air strikes on supposed drug boats, which have taken out more than two dozen vessels and over 100 alleged smugglers.
Still, Trump told NBC that he doesn’t “discuss” whether his moves could result in an all-out war.
“As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large — largest one ever seized, actually,” the president said at the time.
The President did not talk about an exact time frame for the ongoing clash, saying, “It depends. If they’re foolish enough to be sailing along, they’ll be sailing along back into one of our harbors.”
In the center of the fracas between both countries lies Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan dictator Trump said supervises what he’s designated as a terrorist government. He has also placed a $50 million bounty on information that leads to the socialist leader’s arrest.
Maduro is also the alleged head of Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles, which he designated a terrorist organization, Trump said.
Notwithstanding, Trump did not mention whether his goal was to get rid of Maduro. Last month, the two leaders had a phone call to deliberate the possibility of a meeting in Washington, D.C., according to The New York Times.
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