Trump threatens to bomb Venezuela: “We know where the bad guys live and we will start very soon”
US President Donald Trump renewed threats against Venezuela, saying the US is preparing “soon” to carry out ground-based bombing against targets believed to be linked to drug trafficking. His remarks drew harsh reactions, including from Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro.
Donald Trump threatens to bomb Venezuela PHOTO: AFP
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he plans to order bombings of targets in Venezuela, announcing an expansion of current operations against suspected drug traffickers. “We will start carrying out these attacks on land as well“, he declared at a Cabinet meeting. “We know where they live. We know where the bad guys live and we'll start very soon.”
According to CNN, Trump has been mulling for weeks the possibility of targeting people in Venezuela, which would mean a significant escalation of a campaign that has so far focused almost exclusively on targeting boats suspected of transporting drugs to the US.
Tuesday's remarks echo those made last week, when during a Thanksgiving phone call with members of the military, the president told them that the ground strikes would be launched “very soon”.
Controversies concerning American operations
The Trump administration has faced intense public criticism in the wake of these operations, including after the revelation that a second attack on a ship was ordered because the first did not kill everyone on board.
Trump defended the military's actions on Tuesday, insisting the offensive was necessary to stop drugs at their source. He pointed out that it would be “much easier” to hit targets on land and did not rule out the possibility of expanding the attacks to other countries. “Anyone who does this and sells drugs in our country is liable to attack,” said the American leader.
The harsh reaction of the president of Colombia
Trump's remarks provoked an immediate reaction from Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro, who publicly warned him not to threaten his country's sovereignty. “Don't threaten our sovereignty because you'll wake the Jaguar. Attacking our sovereignty means declaring war,” Petro wrote on X after Trump mentioned Colombia in the context of potential attacks.
Trump did not explicitly say he would strike Colombia, but he referred to the country when asked about possible targets. “I heard that Colombia, the country Colombia produces cocaine. They have cocaine factories… anyone who does that and sells it in our country is under attackhe said.
In his reply, Petro invited Trump to visit Colombia to see efforts against drug trafficking. “If there's one country that has helped stop the trafficking of thousands of tons of cocaine so that North Americans don't use it, it's Colombia“, the Colombian president said.
Lethal operations in international waters
Since September 2, the US military has attacked at least 22 vessels suspected of carrying drugs in international waters near Venezuela and Colombia, killing at least 83 people.
At the end of his remarks, Donald Trump praised the decrease in the number of border crossings, negotiations on drug prices and other domestic policy achievements. He took the opportunity to rekindle the discussion about the Nobel Peace Prize. “I think about all the wars I've fought. I should get the Nobel Prize for every war, but I don't want to be greedy”he said.
