Trump leaves door open for Venezuela troops while signaling willingness to meet Maduro

While speaking with the press, Trump was asked whether he ruled out the presence of American troops on the ground, to which the head of the White House replied:

"No, I don't rule out that. I don't rule out anything. We just have to take care of Venezuela. They dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country from prisons. Nobody knows better than this young lady right here. But we had millions of people pouring through. A year ago, we had millions of people pouring through our border, and many of them came from Venezuela, including Trinidad and Tobago, the gang," Trump said.

The question arose after the US State Department announced a day earlier that, beginning on November 24, it would designate the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization. CNN wrote that this decision will allow US troops to target the assets and infrastructure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (since Washington links narcotrafficking cartels to the government).

Trump also noted that he loves Venezuela and the people of that country, but what Biden and the Democrats have done to this country can never be forgotten.

In addition, journalists recalled yesterday’s remarks by the head of the White House that Maduro wants to talk. For this reason, Trump was asked whether he is ready to speak directly with the Venezuelan leader.

“Yeah, I probably would talk to him. Yeah, I'd talk to everybody,” the US president replied.

As explained by Phil Gunson, a researcher with the International Crisis Group in Caracas, the Cartel de los Soles does not actually exist.

He told CNN that it was a journalistic expression invented to refer to the involvement of Venezuelan authorities in drug trafficking.

Tensions between the US and Venezuela

Last week, US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of Operation Southern Spear in the Western Hemisphere (effectively near Venezuela). As explained by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, the operation is aimed at narcoterrorist organizations.

“This mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people,” said the US Secretary of War.

Also on Sunday, media reported that, amid rising tensions with Venezuela, the US Navy sent a strike group, including the flagship aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, into the Caribbean Sea.

Additionally, according to CBS News, the Pentagon has already provided Trump with plans for military operations against Venezuela. It was noted that all options are ready to be implemented in the coming days.