"WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans on Wednesday to warn that the Trump administration is ready to take new military action against Venezuela if the country's interim leadership strays from U.S. expectations. In prepared testimony for a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio says the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela and that its interim leaders are cooperating, but he notes that the Trump administration would not rule out using additional force if needed following a raid to capture then-President Nicolás Maduro early this month."
"'We are prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation if other methods fail,' Rubio will say, according to his prepared opening statement released Tuesday by the State Department. 'It is our hope that this will not prove necessary, but we will never shy away from our duty to the American people and our mission in this hemisphere.' As he often is called to do, Rubio, a former Florida senator, will aim to sell one of President Donald Trump's more contentious priorities to former colleagues in Congress."
The Trump administration is prepared to take new military action against Venezuela if the country's interim leadership strays from U.S. expectations. The U.S. maintains it is not at war with Venezuela and says interim leaders are cooperating, yet it would not rule out additional force after a raid to capture then-President Nicolás Maduro. The operation is characterized as aiding law enforcement, with denials of occupation and assertions that no U.S. troops are on the ground. The administration defends removing Maduro to face U.S. drug-trafficking charges, continuing strikes on suspected smuggling boats, and seizing sanctioned oil tankers.
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
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