In brief
Donald Trump has downplayed the likelihood of the U.S. going to war with Venezuela despite an increased military presence in the Caribbean. During a CBS interview, he suggested that Nicolás Maduro's presidency is nearing its end but emphasized the ongoing military actions are aimed at drug trafficking, not regime change. The U.S. has significantly bolstered its military assets in the region, and Trump has not ruled out further actions if deemed necessary.
Donald Trump has played down the possibility of a US war with Venezuela, but suggested Nicolás Maduro's days as the country's president were numbered.Asked if the US was going to war against Venezuela, the US president told CBS' 60 Minutes: I doubt it. I don't think so. But they've been treating us very badly.For two months, the US military has been building up a force of warships, fighter jets, bombers, marines, drones, and spy planes in the Caribbean Sea. It is the largest deployment there for decades.The US continues to launch strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean. The Trump administration says the strikes are necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the US.Trump rejected suggestions that the US action was not about stopping narcotics, but aimed at ousting Maduro, a long-time Trump opponent, saying it was about many things. At least 64 people have been killed by US strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since early September, CBS News - the BBC's US news partner - reports.Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, Trump said: Every single boat that you see that's shot down kills 25,000 on drugs and destroys families all over our country.Pushed on whether the US was planning any strikes on land, Trump refused to rule it out, saying: I wouldn't be inclined to say that I would do that... I'm not gonna tell you what I'm gonna do with Venezuela, if I was gonna do it or if I wasn't going to do it.Long-range bomber planes, B-52s, have carried out bomber attack demonstrations off the coast of Venezuela. Trump has authorized the deployment of the CIA to Venezuela and the world's largest aircraft carrier is being sent to the region.Maduro has previously accused Washington of fabricating a new war, while Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said the strikes on boats are being used by the US to dominate Latin America.Trump said the government was not going to allow people from all over the world to come in. He called Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang the most vicious gang anywhere in the world.
