Trump Says He Isn’t Ruling Out War With Venezuela

President Donald Trump said on Dec. 18 that he isn’t ruling out the possibility of war with Venezuela amid U.S. economic and military pressure on the country.

“I don’t rule it out, no,” Trump told NBC News when asked about the prospect of a war with the South American nation.

When pressed on whether his government’s campaign targeting Venezuela will lead to war, he responded, “I don’t discuss it.”

Earlier this week, Trump said he ordered the U.S. military to initiate a blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, coming about a week after the administration seized a tanker near the country. Officials said that the tanker was engaging in business with foreign terrorist organizations linked to the Iranian regime.

Trump was also asked whether more tankers could be seized by the United States.

“It depends. If they’re foolish enough to be sailing along, they’ll be sailing along back into one of our harbors,” he said.

For months, the U.S. military has launched strikes on boats that officials say were carrying drugs into the United States. The Pentagon also positioned its largest aircraft carrier group, the USS Gerald R. Ford, near Latin America earlier this year.

Trump also previously said that U.S. land strikes on the South American country would begin soon.

He told NBC that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro “knows exactly what I want, he knows better than anybody,” but did not elaborate. Trump was responding to a question about whether the administration is trying to oust Maduro from power.

Maduro has alleged that the U.S. actions are aimed at overthrowing him and gaining control of the OPEC nation’s oil resources, which are the world’s largest crude reserves.

Speaking to CNN last month, Maduro was asked whether he had a message for Trump.

“Yes, peace. Yes, peace,” he replied in English.

The Trump administration informed Congress in October that the United States is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels, saying Maduro plays a major role in supplying illegal drugs that kill Americans, which Maduro has denied.

The U.S. State Department in November declared Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, asserting that Maduro has effectively served as the head of the network. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Maduro with narco-terrorism offenses in 2020 during Trump’s first term as president.

Trump released his National Security Strategy earlier this month, saying that the United States is aiming to revive the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine, which declared the Western Hemisphere to be Washington’s zone of influence.

The Trump administration has sought to deport or terminate the status of hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants of Venezuelan origin who are currently residing in the United States.

On Dec. 16, Trump said that Venezuela is facing a U.S. blockade and its government has been designated as a terrorist organization.

“For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” he said in a post on Truth Social. “Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.”

Reuters contributed to this report.