What to know about Venezuela, Maduro and Trump’s possible military plans
Global News
The Trump administration has accused Maduro of leading a 'narco-terrorist' state that allows shipments of drugs to be trafficked into the U.S. and Europe.
The prospect of U.S. military action against Venezuela and the regime of Nicolas Maduro is growing by the day, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening this week to begin land operations in the Latin American country “very soon.”
The Trump administration has accused Maduro of leading a “narco-terrorist” state that facilitates drug trafficking into the U.S. and Europe, and of flooding the U.S. with illegal immigrants.
The U.S. has raised pressure on Venezuela by moving an armada of aircraft carriers and other warships to the region, along with thousands of troops. The military has also conducted more than 20 strikes on vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which the administration has said are being run by drug cartels — some of them in collusion with Maduro’s government, which Maduro denies.
The legality of those strikes, which the Pentagon said this week have killed more than 80 people to date, has come under increased scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers. The Pentagon on Friday confirmed its latest strike in the area killed four people.
Despite no formal declaration of war against Venezuela, Trump has suggested the military operations against drug cartels could expand to within the country itself and could involve the CIA.
“You know, the land is much easier, much easier. And we know the routes they take,” Trump told reporters Tuesday as he met with his cabinet at the White House. “We know everything about them. We know where they live. We know where the bad ones live. And we’re going to start that very soon, too.”
The Department of National Defence told Global News that Canada “continues to monitor the situation closely.”
“The U.S.’s actions are unilateral and the Canadian Armed Forces does not participate,” a spokesperson said in an email.
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