Amid uncertainty over Venezuela’s political future following major US-led strikes in the country, President Donald Trump on Monday warned of a second strike in the country “if they don’t behave”.
“We were prepared to do a second strike,” Trump told reporters during an interaction. When a reporter asked him if another operation was off the table, Trump clarified that it was not. “If they don’t behave, we’ll do a second strike,” Trump was heard saying.
Trump’s latest warning comes days after the US forces led a dead-of-night operation by in Caracas, and captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife and fellow leader Cilia Flores. The couple is currently in New York and is facing a trial there in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.
Is Colombia next?
Trump also hinted at another Venezeula-like operation, this time in Colombia. Taking a dig at Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, Trump said that country was under the rule of a “sick man”.
When asked if the US would pursue a military operation against the country, Trump answered, “It sounds good to me”.
“Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man, who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long,” Trump told reporters aboard the Air Force One.
Trump on Venezuelan elections
During the latest media interaction, Trump also said the focus lies more on “fixing” the country, than elections. His remarks followed a similar stand presented by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said Venezuelan elections would be “premature” at the moment.
“What we are focused on right now is all of the problems we had when Maduro was there. We still have those problems in terms of them needing to be addressed. We are going to give people an opportunity to address those challenges and those problems,” he was quoted as saying in an AFP report.
Earlier, Rubio indicated that the US was not seeking a complete regime change in Venezuela and was not planning to take a day-to-day role in governing Caracas.
His remarks dialed back on Trump’s repeated assertions that the US would “run” Venezuela until a power transition was established. In contrast, Rubio said during a CBS News interview that the US role would be limited to enforcing an existing “oil quarantine” and using it as leverage to push for changes in Venezuela.
