Trump says US should lead in Venezuela to profit economically
Donald Trump, President of the US (photo: Getty Images)
The political future of Venezuela will come, but the main priority now is its stabilization. At the same time, the United States will govern the country, in part to benefit from its economic advantages, states US President Donald Trump.
Rather than rushing to hold elections in Venezuela, Trump stated that stabilization should be the priority, as the country is on the brink. He described this approach as a win-win for both the US and Venezuela.
“The country is ready to be — it’s literally become a third-world country ready to fail,” the US president said.
Considering the situation, Trump believes the US should govern Venezuela. He added that this is necessary for Washington to gain economic benefits.
“We should run the country with law and order. We should run the country where we can take advantage of the economics of what they have — which is valuable oil and valuable other things,” the US leader said.
Trump rejects the opposition’s prospects
Regarding opposition figures in Venezuela, Trump said that none currently have sufficient support from the people. He specifically mentioned opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado:
He said that he didn’t think she had the support of the people that she needed and that was it.
The US president added that Machado could only win elections if he personally supported her:
“She could only win an election if I did support her. But I like her very much,” Trump noted.
Oil as a source of tension between the U.S. and Venezuela
In addition to Trump’s widely known focus on combating drug trafficking - charges brought against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was detained by the US - the confrontation between the two countries is also driven by oil fields and land.
Long before the operation in Venezuela, Trump demanded that Caracas return stolen assets, oil, and land to the US.
This refers to Venezuelan oil fields that previously belonged to American companies but were nationalized by the Venezuelan government under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez. Trump claimed that Maduro used these oil resources to establish and run his drug business.
Washington repeatedly struck Venezuelan oil tankers and offered Maduro asylum in Turkey, but the president ignored these proposals. Even the latest attack on a tanker went unaddressed by Maduro. The final straw for Trump’s team was reportedly when the Venezuelan president danced publicly amid escalating tensions with the US.
It was at that point that the decision was made to carry out a special operation in Venezuela to detain the Maduro couple, which took place on January 3.
For more details on the US strike on Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro, read the article by RBC-Ukraine.
