Russia and China pledge support for Venezuela as Trump drives up pressure on Maduro
China and Russia have expressed support for Venezuela as it confronts a US blockade of sanctioned oil tankers, while Donald Trump continues to ramp up his pressure campaign on the South American country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.
Amid reports of slowing activity at Venezuelan ports, the US president again called for Maduro to leave power, and reiterated that the US would keep or sell the oil it had seized off the coast of Venezuela in recent weeks.
Asked if the goal was to force Maduro from power, Trump told reporters: “I think it’d be smart for him to do that,” before adding “if he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’s ever able to play tough.”
After Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela last week, tanker loading at the country’s ports has slowed, with most ships moving oil cargoes only between domestic ports, according to the Reuters news agency. The number of loaded tankers that have not departed has increased in recent days, leaving millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil stuck on board ships, while customers demand deeper discounts and contract changes to take risky voyages beyond the country’s waters. [Continue reading…]
Republican lawmakers are divided over whether President Trump should escalate military pressure on Venezuela to oust President Nicolás Maduro, with some Republicans warning that “regime change” has a history of backfiring on the United States.
Senate Republicans largely support Trump’s aggressive targeting of Venezuelan speedboats suspected of smuggling drugs, but some warn that attacking Maduro’s regime more directly, either by striking targets on land or putting “boots on the ground,” could go too far.
“I’m certainly following the situation closely. I support what the president’s done. I think the question is how forceful we should do this,” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said. “I think we just have to be very careful when we’re dealing with regime change. It seems to backfire a lot.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he believes the administration is pursuing regime change in Venezuela and declared, “I’m opposed to it.” [Continue reading…]