US President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested deploying warships along Venezuela’s cost to enforce a naval blockade, a report claims, citing officials. Trump earlier signaled he was eyeing the move, but was short on details.
Trump first broached the idea of cutting off the crisis-hit Latin American nation from the outside word at least a year and half ago, Axios reported, citing current and former officials, privy to the internal discussions.
Also on rt.com Bolton promises economic ruin for ‘rogue state’ Venezuela with trade embargoWhile the proposal has not reportedly won much support from the top brass, that see a prospect of stationing the US Navy along the 2,800 km (1,700 mi) long Venezuelan coastline unfeasible and too costly to give it a try, Trump has not given up on his idea, floating it again as recently as “several weeks ago,” the officials said.
He literally just said we should get the ships out there and do a naval embargo. Prevent anything going in
Senior officials in the Trump administration also reportedly voiced concerns about implications of the move in the eyes of the international law, as it appears to lack any legal justification.
Others warned that such a mammoth project would require the amount of resources that the Navy does not yet possess and could hurt the US ability to deter China and Iran since the blockade would require diverting ships from other regions.
When proposing a blockade of Venezuela, Trump apparently was reminiscing about the one imposed on Cuba during the Caribbean crisis of 1962, one official, who spilled the beans to Axios, said, noting that the president has been having a hard time grasping the challenge to his plan provided by geography.
Cuba is an island and Venezuela is a massive coastline. And Cuba we knew what we were trying to prevent from getting in. But here what are we talking about?
Trump first publicly admitted that he was mulling a blockade or a "quarantine" of Venezuela early August. “Yes, I am,” the president said back then, when asked by a reporter if he was considering such an option, but provided no details. In the weeks that followed, he has never touched on the subject again, at least, publicly.
Also on rt.com Venezuela ‘ready for battle’ if Trump imposes blockade – MaduroTrump’s remark drew a strong rebuke from Caracas, with Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro saying that his country was “prepared for battle” if Washington delivers on its threat.
The US has been openly advocating for a regime change in Venezuela, rallying behind opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is struggling to regain momentum after a failed coup attempt on April 31, and hitting the nation with layers of sanctions intended to ruin its already crippled economy, all in the name of a "peacful democratic transition."
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Source : RT - Daily news
‘Prevent anything going in’: Report claims Trump repeatedly considered Venezuela blockade
‘Prevent anything going in’: Report claims Trump repeatedly considered Venezuela blockade
