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President Donald Trump confirmed reports that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro offered to grant the U.S. access to Venezuelan oil and other natural resources as tensions heat up between the U.S. and Venezuela amid Trump’s crusade against drugs.
Trump said Maduro put forth the proposal because the Venezuelan leader doesn’t want to mess with the U.S.
“You’re right. You know why? Because he doesn’t want to f— around with the United States,” Trump told reporters Friday during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The New York Times reported Oct. 10 that Maduro proposed offering current and future oil and gold projects in Venezuela to U.S. companies and stipulated U.S. businesses would be granted “preferential” contracts. Likewise, the Times reported that other conditions Maduro put forth included cutting down on energy and mining contracts with U.S. adversaries, including China, Iran and Russia.
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However, the Trump administration wrote off the offer and instead said it was no longer interested in engaging in diplomatic efforts, according to the Times.
The Trump administration has increased pressure on the Maduro regime in recent weeks and has long said it does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state, but instead as a leader of a drug cartel.
In August, the Trump administration increased the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million and said that the Venezuelan leader is “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world.”
Additionally, the White House sent lawmakers a memo Sept. 30 informing them that the U.S. is now participating in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug smugglers and has conducted at least six strikes on vessels in Venezuela’s neighboring waters. The U.S. seized survivors from the most recent strike Thursday.
While Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to provide additional details on Thursday’s strike, Trump said the vessel targeted was a submarine.
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“We attacked the submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs,” Trump said Friday. “Just so you understand, this was not an innocent group of people. I don’t know too many people that have submarines. And that was an attack on a drug-carrying, loaded-up submarine.”
On Wednesday, Trump confirmed he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela after the New York Times reported he signed off on the move. Trump told reporters he did so because Venezuela has released prisoners into the U.S. and that drugs were coming into the U.S. from Venezuela through sea routes.
However, Trump refused to answer when asked if the CIA had the authority to “take out” Maduro.
Meanwhile, the strikes have attracted scrutiny from both sides of the aisle as questions swirl about their legality. For example, Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced a war powers resolution Friday that would prohibit U.S. armed forces from participating in “hostilities” against Venezuela.
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The lawmakers said the resolution came in response to Trump’s comments Wednesday revealing he was eyeing land operations in Venezuela.
“The Trump administration has made it clear they may launch military action inside Venezuela’s borders and won’t stop at boat strikes in the Caribbean,” Schiff said in a statement Friday.
“In recent weeks, we have seen increasingly concerning movements and reporting that undermine claims that this is merely about stopping drug smugglers. Congress has not authorized military force against Venezuela. And we must assert our authority to stop the United States from being dragged — intentionally or accidentally — into full-fledged war in South America.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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