WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has refused to rule out military action against Venezuela, saying war remains a possibility as Washington steps up pressure on Caracas through an oil blockade.
“I don’t rule it out, no,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview on Thursday. The interview was published on Friday.
Trump also declined to say whether he wants to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Earlier, Maduro alleged that Washington wants regime change in Caracas.
“He knows exactly what I want,” Trump replied. “He knows better than anybody.”
Maduro has alleged that the US action is aimed at overthrowing him and gaining control of the OPEC nation’s oil resources, which are the world’s largest crude reserves.
Trump said there would be further seizures of oil tankers, after US forces last week took control of an oil tanker leaving the South American nation.
Trump has left the world guessing about exactly what his ultimate aims are on Venezuela, after dramatically building up the US military presence in the Caribbean in recent months.
The US president has accused Maduro of running a “narco-terrorist” cartel, and American forces have carried out numerous strikes on alleged drug boats since September, killing more than 100 people.
Trump has also been saying for weeks that he will start land strikes “soon” against drug traffickers.
But Trump this week turned his emphasis towards Venezuela’s oil, of which it has the world’s largest proven reserves.
Trump also accused Venezuela of “taking” US oil, apparently referring to the nationalization of the country’s oil industry, as he announced the blockade on sanctioned oil tankers.
“They took all of our energy rights, they took all of our oil, from not that long ago, and we want it back,” Trump said on Wednesday.
US ‘reserves right’ to use all resources
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday told reporters that Maduro’s “regime” is “illegitimate” and that the goals of US actions in the region are “stability and security”.
Rubio was asked how he would square the Trump administration’s self-image as a peacemaker with the escalating military threats to Venezuela.
“We reserve the right, and have the right, to utilise every element of national power to defend the national interest of the United States,” he said.
“And no one can dispute that. Every country in the world reserves the same option. We just simply have more power than some of them.”
