Russia, China Respond to Trump’s Venezuela Strikes.
U.S. Navy forces conducted lethal strikes on three suspected Venezuelan drug-smuggling speedboats in international waters off the Caribbean coast on November 3, killing at least six crew members and escalating bilateral hostilities.
Venezuela labeled the operation an “act of war” and filed protests at the United Nations. Russia reportedly dispatched military advisors to Caracas and announced joint air defense exercises scheduled for late November. China reportedly pledged enhanced satellite intelligence support to Maduro’s government.
The Kremlin has strongly criticized the American intervention as disproportionate aggression masked as anti-narcotics enforcement.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, “We resolutely condemn the use of excessive military force in carrying out anti-drug tasks.”
Russian Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said, “We are watching very closely what is happening in Venezuela. Of course, we want everything to remain peaceful and for no new conflicts to arise in the region.”
President Nicolás Maduro has formally sought Russian assistance for sophisticated radar installations, fighter jet overhauls, and possible surface-to-air missile deployments. Venezuelan authorities have rejected the trafficking charges.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said, “This regime systematically and intentionally looked to expel millions of Venezuelans. Imagine if one-third of the US population had to flee? This is devastating for us.”
Machado added, “The day Maduro goes, you will see hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans from all over the world and the US coming back home.”
During a 60 Minutes broadcast, Trump downplayed prospects of immediate war but confirmed ongoing maritime operations and signaled readiness to extend interdiction to overland routes.
Trump said, “They’ve (Venezuela) been treating us very badly, not only on drugs. They’ve dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country that we didn’t want, people from prisons. They emptied their prisons into our country.”
Trump continued, “They also, if you take a look, they emptied their mental institutions and their insane asylums into the United States of America. Every one of those boats that you see shot down, and I agree it’s a terrible thing, but every one of those boats kills 25,000 Americans.”
Trump said, “I’m not saying it’s true or untrue, but… I wouldn’t be inclined to say that I would do that because I don’t talk to a reporter about whether or not I’m going to strike. We are certainly looking at land now because we’ve got the sea under control. A lot of Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea. So, you get to see that, but we’re going to stop them by land also.”
David Wilson