US President Donald Trump has threatened the military in Venezuela with grave consequences if they continue to support the controversial leader NicolásMaduro. “If you choose this path, you will not find a haven and no way out, you will lose everything,” Trump said on Monday afternoon (local time) in a speech in Miami to the Venezuelan military who were still on Maduro’s side stand.
Trump urged the military to let the aid deliveries at the border into the country. The humanitarian disaster must end, he warned. Addressing the supporters of the Maduro regime, the US president said, “End this nightmare of poverty, hunger, and death.”
Trump stressed that the US “wants a peaceful change of power, but all options are open.” For weeks, the US government has explicitly stated that it would not rule out military intervention in Venezuela if Maduro does not voluntarily resign.
Venezuela is suffering from a supply crisis.
In Venezuela, a power struggle has been raging for weeks between the opposition and the socialist government. Parliament leader Juan Guaidó declared himself interim president on 23 January, openly challenging Maduro.
The world’s most oil-rich country suffers from a severe supply crisis. Many people are starving; hospitals lack medicines and materials. For more than a week, trucks and supplies have been waiting for us at the Colombian border with Venezuela. The Venezuelan military does not let them pass at the behest of Maduro. Maduro considers humanitarian aid an excuse for military intervention and does not want to let them into the country.
