'Nicolas Maduro's Days Are Numbered': Trump Refuses To Rule Out Sending US Troops To Venezuela

'Nicolas Maduro's Days Are Numbered': Trump Refuses To Rule Out Sending US Troops To Venezuela

US President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, declaring that the authoritarian leader's “days are numbered" and refusing to rule out the possibility of deploying American troops to Venezuelan territory.

Trump made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Politico, as US military activity in the Caribbean intensifies and draws heightened scrutiny in Washington.

Asked whether American ground forces could be sent into Venezuela, Trump repeatedly declined to provide a definitive answer.

“I don't comment on that. I wouldn't say that one way or the other," he said. When pressed again, he reiterated, “I don't want to rule in or out. I don't talk about it."

Trump justified his hardening stance by accusing Maduro of sending migrants with criminal backgrounds into the United States.

“He sent us millions of people, many from prisons, many drug dealers, drug lords, people in mental institutions," Trump said.

He went on to attack former President Joe Biden, saying the administration had allowed the situation to worsen.

“We had a very stupid President. You know that. Biden's a low-IQ person, especially nowadays. I mean, he was low-IQ 30 years ago, but he's especially low-IQ now," he said, adding that violent gang members from the Venezuelan group Tren de Aragua had entered the US.

Asked directly how far he would go to remove Maduro from office, Trump again avoided outlining specific actions but responded, “His days are numbered."

He added that one of his key objectives was ensuring better treatment for Venezuelan citizens.

“I want the people of Venezuela to be treated well," he said, noting that many Venezuelans living in the United States had strongly supported him politically.

Trump's comments come as the US military expands its footprint in the region.

On Tuesday, a pair of US Navy F/A-18 fighter jets flew over the Gulf of Venezuela, in what appears to be the closest American warplanes have come to Venezuela's airspace since the start of Trump's pressure campaign.

Public flight-tracking data showed the jets spending more than 30 minutes over the water.

A US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, was quoted by the Associated Press as describing it as a “routine training flight" conducted entirely in international airspace.

The official said the flight mirrored earlier exercises meant to demonstrate the reach of US aircraft and stressed that it was not intended to be provocative.

Previous US deployments to the area have included B-52 and B-1 bombers, though those missions remained farther from Venezuelan territory.

The flight comes amid the US military's largest regional presence in decades, including a string of deadly strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Since early September, at least 87 people have been killed in 22 known strikes, including a follow-up attack that killed two survivors clinging to wreckage after their boat was initially hit.

Trump has defended the operations as part of an escalating effort to stem narcotics trafficking, saying the US is engaged in an “armed conflict" with drug cartels and that “land attacks are coming soon," without elaborating.

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Maduro, meanwhile, has repeatedly claimed that the United States' real aim is to remove him from office, an assertion Trump did little to dispel in his latest remarks.

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Source: News18
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