Trump Denies Reports He’s Planning Strikes on Venezuela

Описание: Retired Army General Wesley Clark said the Trump administration is keeping Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro off balance as the US increases pressure with the threat of military action.

President Donald Trump denied that he is considering strikes on Venezuela, contradicting a media report that he’d given approval for such a move as well as his own past statements that he was preparing land attacks after a series of boat strikes.
Trump replied “no” when asked by reporters Friday aboard Air Force One if it was true he is weighing whether to attack military sites in Venezuela. He said “no” again when asked if he had decided on the matter.
The comments appeared to contradict a report in the Miami Herald earlier Friday that the Trump administration has opted to attack military installations inside Venezuela, and the strikes could come at any moment. The Wall Street Journal had also reported on Thursday that the administration had identified potential targets but hadn’t made a decision on whether to carry them out.
Asked earlier about the reports, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said “unnamed sources don’t know what they’re talking about” and any announcement would come from Trump.
The reports, and Trump’s comments, further clouded the picture around the US president’s intentions for Venezuela and his push to fight narco-traffickers in the Caribbean. Last week, Trump said “the land is going to be next” after a series of attacks since mid-September on alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific. The US government has provided little documentation to support its accusations the vessels were carrying drugs, other than descriptions and video clips showing footage of the bombardments.
At the time, Trump also said he wouldn’t need to seek congressional authorization to attack drug cartels. He said “land drugs are much more dangerous for them” and that “you’ll be seeing that soon.” The US Constitution grants Congress the sole power to formally declare war.
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