Further escalating tensions with nearby Venezuela have risen as a result of President Donald Trump’s confirmation that the US has launched yet another strike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea this week.
When confronted by media reports about survivors, Trump made his first statements about the attack during a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine on Friday.
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Trump claimed that the submarine we attacked was a drug-carrying submarine, which was built specifically for the transportation of sizable amounts of marijuana, without providing details about the vessel’s nature or its purpose.
This group of people was not innocent. There aren’t many people in my opinion who have submarines.
On Thursday, Reuters broke the news of a fresh attack. Since the US launched its bombing campaign in the Caribbean on September 2, the first reports of survivors have been made.
Under the condition of anonymity, a Department of Defense official confirmed that the two survivors had been taken into custody. What their condition is or whether they will be prosecuted is a mystery. According to reports, the explosion left two people dead.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to provide further information when questioned about the survivors at Friday’s meeting. However, he did support US operations when necessary to stop illegal drugs.
Rubio stated that “we’re conducting these operations against narco-terrorists.” These are what, to put it mildly. These individuals are terrorists. Be specific, please.
The Trump administration has confirmed five more attacks, totaling at least 28 fatalities.
The Trump administration has portrayed the military strikes as a means of halting Venezuelan drug trafficking.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has stated that he believes some of his citizens were among the dead, despite the fact that the government has not provided proof of the identities of those killed.
A family in Trinidad and Tobago, which is located 11 kilometers (six miles) from the Venezuelan coast, has also stated that it believes a relative was killed in the most recent wave of attacks.
Venezuela has requested that the strikes be made illegal by the UN Security Council.
Since drug traffickers are not viewed as combatants in a military conflict, legal analysts claim that they almost certainly constitute a violation of US and international law.
Maduro “offered everything.”
Trump also appeared to confirm rumors that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had made concessions in an effort to lower US-to-US tensions during Friday’s meeting.
He has provided everything, he said. Trump responded to a reporter’s question, “You’re right. You understand why, then. Because he doesn’t want to “f*** around” with the US.
Trump has a long history of animosity toward Maduro, dating back to the “maximum pressure” campaign he launched during his first term in office.
Trump met with the Maduro government shortly after taking office for a second term in January, and he started a few frank discussions with it. He sent special envoy Richard Grenell to arrange for the deportation of US citizens to Venezuela and the release of imprisoned Americans.
However, the Trump administration demanded that Grenell’s efforts be ended earlier this month, effectively severing diplomatic contact.
Trump also increased the amount of money that he had offered in August for Maduro’s arrest to $50 million.
Trump’s efforts to increase his own executive power have a corollary with the escalating tensions with Venezuela.
He asserts that the US is in danger of being invaded by violent migrants, drug traffickers, and criminal organizations in order to declare wartime emergency and invoke powers imposed by the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
Trump has claimed that Maduro himself was the mastermind behind the “invasion” by the gang Tren de Aragua in order to justify the wartime powers.
He has not provided any proof, and a National Intelligence Council report from April that appeared to refute his claims, which found no link between the Maduro administration and the Tren de Aragua gang.
Despite this, critics have heightened concern that these claims could be used to lay the groundwork for military coups aimed at reversing the Maduro government. Both the US and Venezuela have already increased their military presence close to the Caribbean.
Trump appeared to confirm earlier this week that he had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
