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Trump: May Talk With Maduro 11/17 06:28
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Sunday the U.S.
"may be having some discussions" with Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro, a
potential diplomatic avenue as the U.S. further builds up its military presence
near the South American country with the arrival of its most advanced aircraft
carrier.
Trump didn't offer details about the possible discussions with Maduro, but
he said "Venezuela would like to talk."
The U.S. military has been carrying out a series of strikes against vessels
suspected of transporting drugs. The arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford and
other warships, announced by the Navy in a statement, marks a major moment in
what the administration insists is a counterdrug operation but has been seen as
an escalating pressure tactic against Maduro.
When asked Sunday what he meant when he said Maduro wants to talk, Trump
simply said: "What does it mean? You tell me, I don't know."
"I'll talk to anybody," he added a few moments later. "We'll see what
happens."
Venezuela's government didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.
Maduro, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S., has said the U.S.
government is "fabricating" a war against him.
The Ford rounds off the largest buildup of U.S. firepower in the region in
generations. With its arrival, the "Operation Southern Spear" mission includes
nearly a dozen Navy ships and about 12,000 sailors and Marines.
The carrier's arrival coincided with the military announcing its latest
deadly strike on a small boat it claims was ferrying illegal drugs. The
military's Southern Command posted a video on X on Sunday showing the boat
being blown up, an attack it said took place Saturday in international waters
of the eastern Pacific Ocean and killed three men. The military did not
immediately respond to a request for more information.
Since early September, such strikes by the U.S. in the Caribbean and eastern
Pacific have killed at least 83 people in 21 attacks.
The carrier strike group, which includes squadrons of fighter jets and
guided-missile destroyers, transited the Anegada Passage near the British
Virgin Islands on Sunday morning, the Navy said.
Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, who commands the strike group, said it will
bolster an already large force of American warships to "protect our nation's
security and prosperity against narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere."
Adm. Alvin Holsey, the commander who oversees the Caribbean and Latin
America, said in a statement that the American forces "stand ready to combat
the transnational threats that seek to destabilize our region."
Holsey, who will retire next month after just a year on the job, said the
strike group's deployment is "a critical step in reinforcing our resolve to
protect the security of the Western Hemisphere and the safety of the American
Homeland."
US military holds training exercises in Trinidad and Tobago and Panama
In Trinidad and Tobago, which is only 7 miles from Venezuela at its closest
point, government officials said troops have begun "training exercises" with
the U.S. military that will run through much of the week.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sean Sobers described the joint exercises as the
second in less than a month and said they are aimed at tackling violent crime
on the island nation, which has become a stopover point for drug shipments
headed to Europe and North America. The prime minister has been a vocal
supporter of the U.S. military strikes.
The exercises will include Marines from the 22nd Expeditionary Unit who have
been stationed aboard the Navy ships that have been looming off Venezuela's
coast for months.
Venezuela's government has described the training exercises as an act of
aggression. It had no immediate comment Sunday on the arrival of the aircraft
carrier.
Meanwhile, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said Sunday that U.S. troops have
been training in Panama, underscoring the administration's increasing focus on
Latin America.
"We're reactivating our jungle school in Panama. We would be ready to act on
whatever" Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth needed, he told CBS' "Face
the Nation."
The administration has insisted that the buildup of American forces in the
region is focused on stopping the flow of drugs into the U.S., but it has
released no evidence to support its assertions that those killed in the boats
were "narcoterrorists." Trump has indicated military action would expand beyond
strikes by sea, saying the U.S. would "stop the drugs coming in by land."
On Friday, Trump was asked by reporters if he had made up his mind on what
he intended to do about Venezuela. He did not offer details but said, "I sort
of have made up my mind."
The U.S. has long used aircraft carriers to pressure and deter aggression by
other nations because their warplanes can strike targets deep inside another
country. Some experts say the Ford is ill-suited to fighting cartels, but it
could be an effective instrument of intimidation for Maduro in a push to get
him to step down.
Venezuela's government recently touted a "massive" mobilization of troops
and civilians to defend against possible U.S. attacks. Maduro and other
officials in Venezuela's socialist party also have been attending rallies this
weekend to back the creation of neighborhood committees that will be in charge
of increasing membership in Venezuela's socialist party, and promoting the
party's policies.
US to designate a Venezuelan cartel a foreign terrorist organization
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the United States does not recognize
Maduro, who was widely accused of stealing last year's election, as Venezuela's
legitimate leader. Rubio has called Venezuela's government a "transshipment
organization" that openly cooperates with those trafficking drugs.
Rubio said in a statement released Sunday evening that the State Department
intends to designate Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, a foreign
terrorist organization. Rubio said the cartel is headed by Maduro and other
high-ranking members of his government and is among those "responsible for
terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere as well as for trafficking drugs
into the United States and Europe." When the designation takes effect on Nov.
24, it will be a crime to provide "material support" to the cartel or its
members.
Trump has justified the attacks on drug boats by saying the U.S. is in
"armed conflict" with drug cartels while claiming the boats are operated by
foreign terrorist organizations.
He has faced pushback from leaders in the region, the U.N. human rights
chief and U.S. lawmakers, including Republicans, who have pressed for more
information on who is being targeted and the legal justification for the boat
strikes.
Senate Republicans, however, recently voted to reject legislation that would
have put a check on Trump's ability to launch an attack against Venezuela
without congressional authorization.
Experts disagree on whether or not American warplanes may be used to strike
land targets inside Venezuela. Either way, the 100,000-ton warship is sending a
message.
"This is the anchor of what it means to have U.S. military power once again
in Latin America," said Elizabeth Dickinson, the International Crisis Group's
senior analyst for the Andes region. "And it has raised a lot of anxieties in
Venezuela but also throughout the region. I think everyone is watching this
with sort of bated breath to see just how willing the U.S. is to really use
military force."
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