Trump Plans Visit to Venezuela
WASHINGTON – President Trump announced on Friday that he intends to travel to Venezuela following a warm reception from the interim government, which recently hosted Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
“I’m going to visit Venezuela,” Trump stated to reporters as he was leaving for Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Though he hasn’t finalized a date for the visit, he expressed admiration for interim President Delcy Rodriguez. Rodriguez ascended to power after U.S. special forces captured longtime leader Nicolas Maduro in a surprise operation on January 3.
Currently, Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, are facing federal drug and weapons charges in New York.
“I have a very good relationship with the president of Venezuela. You know, we work very closely together. Our big oil companies are coming in. They’re going to extract oil and sell it for substantial profits, and Venezuela is set to benefit significantly,” Trump remarked.
“And if you ask me, our current relationship with Venezuela is a solid 10.”
When asked about formally recognizing Rodriguez as the leader, Trump responded, “Well, now we’ve done it. We’ve been collaborating with them, and honestly, they’ve done an impressive job. She’s really performed well, and the relationship is strong.”
“Relations with Venezuela are as good as they can be, really.”
During his time at Fort Bragg, Trump was expected to meet with U.S. military officials involved in the operation to capture Maduro, who has overseen an economic crisis, mass migration, and numerous contested elections during his nearly 13 years in power.
Venezuela’s Defense Ministry reported losses from the U.S. attack, including 47 Venezuelan soldiers, 32 Cuban soldiers, and others.
It’s important to note that no American soldiers lost their lives during the mission. Rodriguez, who previously served as Maduro’s vice president, has familial ties to the country’s parliament as her brother holds a prominent position.
Last month, Trump mentioned that a specific weapon, which he referred to as a “disconvolver,” was crucial for the operation’s success.
“They never fired any rockets,” Trump stated. “They had Russian and Chinese rockets, but they didn’t launch anything. We showed up, pressed the button, and nothing worked. Everything was set up for us.”
Trump has previously claimed that he effectively governs the oil-rich nation through Rodriguez and had even hinted at a “second wave” attack if Maduro didn’t comply with his directives.
In an interesting turn of events, Venezuelan opposition leader María Colina Machado presented Trump with the Nobel Peace Prize on January 15, an effort aimed at persuading him to push for a democratic election, following Trump’s criticism of conservative leaders for lacking broad appeal.
