Featured Image Credit: LUIS JAIMES/Getty
Topics: Donald Trump, News, US News
Gerrard Kaonga
The US government has ramped up its campaign against Venezuela following strikes that shook the capital city early Saturday.
Tensions between the US and Venezuela have been high and building up for months, with President Donald Trump issuing warnings against the country.
Trump has repeatedly told the media that he and his administration have been targeting ‘narco terrorists’ who are accused of smuggling drugs into the country.
The US has been responding with force and killed more than 110 people in strikes in open water since it began attacking boats on September 2.
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However, the US has seemed to have escalated the situation further by launching strikes on Caracas, Venezuela's capital. According to reports, the places hit by strikes include a military airfield in the center of Caracas, La Carlota and the main military base of Fuerte Tiuna.
Trump has also claimed to have captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, writing on Truth Social today (January 3): "The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country."
Several videos have already begun circulating on social media and show explosions rocking Caracas.
The Venezuelan government said that the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira were also hit, and that the strikes were ultimately an attempt by the US to seize Venezuela's oil and minerals.
It said in a statement that it ‘rejects, repudiates and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression perpetrated by the current Government of the United States of America’.
A national emergency was declared by President Maduro, and Cuba and Colombia have also denounced the attacks.
In his post on Truth Social, Trump confirmed the US’ involvement in the strikes, writing: “This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow. There will be a News Conference today at 11 A.M., at Mar-a-Lago. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Back in October, when asked by a reporter why he would not ask Congress for a declaration of war, he replied: "I think we're just gonna kill people. Okay? We're gonna kill them. They're gonna be, like, dead."
He added: “The land is going to be next. And we may go to the Senate; we may go to the Congress and tell them about it, but I can’t imagine they’d have any problem with it."
At the time, Maduro denounced this statement by Trump and accused the US of seeking a ‘new eternal war’, adding: “They promised they would never again get involved in a war, and they are fabricating a war.”
Earlier this week, Maduro said that he and his government were open to talks with the US on drug trafficking and oil 'wherever and whenever they want'.