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President Donald Trump spoke of a possible military option in Venezuela, where President Nicolas Maduro, banned from the international community, had promised the day before to respond “with arms” to an American aggression.
“We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option if needed,” the US president said Friday in an exchange with journalists at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he is holidays.
Called to give details of this announcement, which comes during a period of extreme tension with North Korea, the American president remained evasive. “We have troops around the world that are sometimes very far. Venezuela is not far away and people are suffering and people are dying, “he added, surrounded by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley. Asked about the announcement, the Pentagon simply indicated, by the voice of its spokesman Eric Pahon, that it had “at this stage” received no instructions on this file.
The Venezuelan Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino, described this statement by President Trump as “an act of madness”. In the event of aggression, “we will all be at the forefront in defending the interests and sovereignty of our beloved Venezuela,” said Padrino.
Washington and Caracas, which have lost their respective ambassadors since 2010 but whose relations have improved somewhat at the end of Barack Obama’s term, maintain close economic and trade ties, above all in the oil industry.
In early August, the United States imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan president, who they called a “dictator.” Washington’s reaction came in the aftermath of the controversial Constituent Assembly election waged by the Socialist president, a poll marked by violence that killed 10 people. Rejected by the opposition and Western countries, this assembly unanimously confirmed it as “constitutional president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela”.
It is extremely rare for the US government to sanction a foreign head of state in office. Mr. Maduro is only the fourth to be so sanctioned by Washington, joining a group composed of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
‘Unacceptable regime’
A new series of US sanctions were also adopted this week against eight Venezuelan officials involved in setting up a Constituent Assembly deemed “illegitimate”.
“This regime is unacceptable and the United States will stand side-by-side with the opposition (which is fighting) against tyranny until Venezuela restores a prosperous and peaceful democracy,” he said. Treasury Steven Mnuchin.
Thursday, Maduro said he wished “a conversation” with his American counterpart. “If he is as interested in Venezuela, I am there, I am the leader of what interests him,” he said in a speech to the Constituent Assembly. Mr Maduro hoped that this discussion would take place by telephone or that it would be held in New York on the occasion of the UN General Assembly in mid-September. The White House revealed that Mr. Maduro had indeed solicited a conversation with Mr. Trump on Friday, but implicitly indicated that his request had not been accepted.
“The United States stands with the people of Venezuela in the face of the permanent repression exerted by the Maduro regime. President Trump will speak with the leader of Venezuela as soon as democracy is restored in this country, “the White House said in a statement. While wishing to have “normal” relations with the United States, Mr. Maduro warned on Thursday Mr. Trump that his country would respond “with guns in hand” to a possible aggression and “will never surrender”.
He spoke to the 545 members of the new assembly, which was responsible for rewriting the 1999 Constitution. He would rule the country for at least two years, with the president’s term expiring in January 2019. The demonstrations against Mr. Maduro 125 dead since early April in a context of severe economic and institutional crisis.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino announced Friday that the leaders of an August 6 attack on a military base in northern Venezuela had been captured by the security forces. These two men, a captain driven out of the army in 2014 and a lieutenant, will receive “exemplary punishment,” promised the minister. The base had been attacked by
Credit: AFP
