Trump Gives Slippery Answer When Asked If Venezuela Conflict Is About Oil: ‘Well…’ | EUROtoday

President Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to suggest that the continuing collection of deadly U.S. navy strikes in Caribbean waters towards alleged drug traffickers from Venezuela may not be completely concerning the medicine.

Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy on Thursday requested Trump throughout an Oval Office press convention concerning the U.S.’s Wednesday seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker if the Caribbean marketing campaign is basically “still just about drugs” or now “also about oil.”

“Well, it’s about a lot of things,” the president replied Thursday. “But one of the things it’s about is the fact that they’ve allowed millions of people to come into our country from their prisons, from gangs, from drug dealers and from mental institutions.”

Trump has lengthy used such rhetoric when discussing immigrants crossing into the U.S., however has been launching precise strikes towards international nationals on alleged drug boats within the Caribbean and Pacific since September.

The lethal marketing campaign has killed greater than 80 folks with out due course of or proof of their crimes. One operation specifically is suspected of being a struggle crime, because the U.S. on Sept. 2 engaged in a “double-tap” airstrike on an alleged drug boat, an operation that killed shipwrecked survivors. The strikes shocked even some Republicans: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has likened them to “summary execution.”

Trump on Thursday as soon as once more floated the thought of deploying U.S. troops to Venezuela for land operations.

“If you look at the drug traffic, drug traffic by sea is down 92% and nobody can figure out who the 8% is, because I have no idea,” he mentioned. “Anybody getting involved in that right now is not doing well. And we’ll start that on land, too. It’s gonna be starting on land pretty soon.”

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Thursday on three nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolás Madurowhose nation has a historical past with U.S. sanctions that reaches again roughly 20 years. Maduro has argued that Trump desires Venezuela’s oil, because the nation holds the world’s largest confirmed oil reserves.

Trump just lately pardoned ex-Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was serving 45 years in federal U.S. jail for serving to transfer tons of cocaine into the nation, main some pundits to ponder whether or not Trump really cares about drug trafficking in any respect.

In a show of American navy energy final month, Trump deployed probably the most superior U.S. plane provider to the Caribbean. The administration is now apparently making ready to grab much more Venezuelan oil tankers.

And as for what to do with the oil from this week’s tanker?

“We’ll keep it, I guess,” Trump mentioned Wednesday.