Trump says Washington is not seeking to usher in regime change in Venezuela
發佈日期: 2025-09-06 21:49
TVB News
U.S. President Donald Trump says Washington is not seeking to usher in regime change in Venezuela.
However, he issued a stark warning to Caracas, saying if its military threatens U.S. forces, "they will be shot down."
This, as the United States ordered an additional 10 stealth fighter jets to a growing military buildup in the Caribbean.
U.S President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Venezuela, saying if its military threatens U.S. forces, "they will be shot down."
"Well, I would say they're going to be in trouble," said Trump. "We'll let them know about that. We heard that happen, but it wasn't really over, not like they described. But I would general, if they do that, you have a choice of doing anything you want. If they fly in a dangerous position, I would say that you or your captains can make the decision as to what they want to do, all right? Say it? But if they do put us in a dangerous position, they'll be shot down."
Trump's comments come after the U.S. Defense Department said late on Thursday two Venezuelan military aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel. The department called it "a highly provocative move."
The Venezuelan military action follows a deadly U.S. strike on a boat the White House says was carrying drugs from Venezuela.
Trump and other officials in his administration are warning they will continue to carry out such strikes to stem the flow of illicit drugs by Latin American drug cartels.
However, the U.S. president downplayed the idea of regime change in Venezuela, and slammed what he claimed was the Latin American nation's failure to crack down on drug cartels.
"Well, we're not talking about that, but we are talking about the fact that you had an election which was a very strange election, to put it mildly, I'm being very nice when I say that," said Trump.
"I can only say that billions of dollars of drugs are pouring into our country from Venezuela. The prisons of Venezuela have been opened up to our country. They've taken their prisoners, the worst prisoners, murderers, Tren de Aragua. The worst prisoners that you can ever imagine are now happily living in the United States of America."
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro wasn't convinced by Trump's rhetoric. He called on Washington to "abandon its plan of violent regime change in Venezuela and in all of Latin America and respect sovereignty, the right to peace, to independence."
Meanwhile, amid the increasing tensions with the U.S., new recruits from the Venezuelan government's civil militia have linked up with the army.
The new recruits paraded through the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. Pedro Infante, Vice President of Venezuela's National Assembly, told the new recruits they are preparing to "guarantee peace in the territory," but they are not seeking war.
