WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump boarded Air Force One to spend the weekend in Florida — amid reports that his administration has made the decision to attack military installations inside Venezuela.
With the commander-in-chief facing questions en route to Palm Beach, reporters pressed him on the reports. He denied them.
“No. It’s not true,” he said.
Sources told the Miami Herald the move is in retaliation against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, with the White House doubling the reward to $50 million for information leading to Maduro’s arrest.
South Florida Republican representatives weighed in Friday. On social media, U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez wrote, “Venezuela will be free.”
“I am in support of taking Maduro out if he does not leave, making Venezuela a free country again and a non-exporter of drugs coming from Colombia,” U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R–Florida, said.
The U.S. continues to step up efforts in its campaign against drug cartels. The Pentagon announced multiple strikes this week on suspected vessels carrying narcotics.
On Wednesday, at the direction of President Trump, American forces destroyed a boat in the eastern Pacific — marking the 14th known American attack against suspected drug runners. Officials believe that from all the strikes so far, at least 61 people have been killed.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. Secretary-General, said nations must act responsibly.
“They must adhere to international standards, including limits on the lethal use of force,” Dujarric said. “It’s clear to us at the U.N. — I think we’ve been very upfront about it — that issues regarding organized crime and the illicit drug trade are a serious threat to member states and communities worldwide. Combating it requires international cooperation.”
Trump has threatened drug cartels that “we’re going to stop them by land.”
In the meantime, on Friday, a naval strike force was off the coast of the Caribbean with plans to expand its search area after known routes of cocaine smuggling.
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