nsnbc : United States President Donald Trump, on Friday, said he would not rule out a “military option” for Venezuela. The statement comes as the Latin American country descends further into unrest and there are fears that the potential for violence, on the side of the government and the ruling socialist PSUV, and opposition to the PSUV regime could ignite a civil war.
“We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option, if necessary,” Trump told reporters at his New Jersey golf club on Friday. Trump didn’t answer a question about whether American troops would lead a potential operation as the president Nicholas Maduro is on way of consolidating power. Instead, Trump responded in a typical “all options are on the table” type statement by explicitly not ruling out military force.
“Venezuela is our neighbor. We have many options for Venezuela and by the way, we’re all over the world and we have troops all over the world in places that are very, very far away. Venezuela is not very far away and the people are suffering and dying. We have many options for Venezuela including a possible military option if necessary.” The American broadcaster CNN quoted Trump as saying.
The Trump administration has slapped sanctions on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after a July 30 vote that allowed the President to replace the National Assembly with a new 545-member Constituent Assembly filled with his supporters. The Roundtable for Democratic Unity (MUD) coalition held an absolute majority in the National Assembly. Earlier this year the PSUV dominated Supreme Court suspended the legislative branch of government, usurped its functions, and claimed the National Assembly was in contempt.
Protests have rocked the streets of Caracas and other Venezuelan cities. The United Nation’s’ human rights office said earlier this month that Venezuelan security forces have used excessive force and arbitrarily detained thousands of people.” The United States condemns the actions of the Maduro dictatorship”.
Venezuelan security forces have wielded excessive force to suppress protests, killing dozens, and have arbitrarily detained 5,000 people since April, including 1,000 still in custody. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said in a statement: “These violations have occurred amid the breakdown of the rule of law in Venezuela, with constant attacks by the Government against the National Assembly and the Attorney-General’s Office.”
Maduro and the PSUV leadership blame unrests on US interference – among others often without reflecting on legitimate and legal grievances. Most analysts, however, agree that a US military intervention in Venezuela is likely, and that Trump’s statement is no more than the “usual US posturing”. nsnbc chief editor Christof Lehmann, in a phone conversation Saturday morning, said jokingly that many of “Trump’s statements are like his hair – it looks impressive but there’s little substance”.
F/AK – nsnbc 12.08.2017
Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2017/08/12/we-have-many-options-for-venezuela-including-a-possible-military-option-trump/
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