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President Donald Trump on Sunday responded vaguely to questions about the possibilities of the U.S. striking mainland Venezuela as well as additional drug-smuggling boats amid rising tensions between the two countries.
Trump answered several questions about Venezuela while speaking to reporters in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday — including the possibility of striking the country and whether he fears escalation from President Nicolás Maduro.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said on Sunday in response to a question about the likelihood of a U.S. strike on the Latin American nation. “Look, Venezuela is sending us their gang members, their drug dealers and drugs. It’s not acceptable.”
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The president also said that the number of boats seen off the coast of Venezuela, where his administration recently bolstered the U.S. Navy’s presence, has decreased significantly.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters for a second time when asked if he intends to launch additional strikes on Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats. “There’s certainly not a lot of boats out there. …. There’s been very little boat traffic.”
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When asked on Sunday if he was concerned about a possible escalation from Maduro, who has labeled some of Trump’s actions illegal, Trump pointed to the millions of drug deaths that occurred in the U.S. last year.
“What’s illegal are the drugs on the boat, and the drugs that are being sent into our country and the fact that 300 million people died last year from drugs, that’s what’s illegal,” Trump fired back.
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The remarks from Trump come amid escalating tensions after a U.S. military strike earlier this month blew apart a Venezuelan drug boat in the southern Caribbean, leaving nearly a dozen suspected Tren de Aragua (TdA) narco terrorists dead. On Saturday, Venezuela’s foreign minister accused U.S. Navy personnel of boarding a tuna boat with nine fishermen in Venezuelan waters, according to The Associated Press.
“A lot of drugs are coming out of Venezuela. A lot of Tren de Aragua,” Trump told reporters. “They’re trying to get out, but we’re stopping them successfully at the border in Venezuela.”
In February, the Trump administration also designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel and others as foreign terrorist organizations.