"Donald Trump and his top advisers have refused to rule out the potential for open conflict with Venezuela as Nicolas Maduro urged his navy to escort oil tankers defying the largest US fleet deployed in the region in decades. In an interview broadcast on Friday morning, Donald Trump told NBC News that going to war with Maduro's regime remains on the table. I don't rule it out, no, he said in a phone interview with the network."
"At a year-end press conference at the state department, Marco Rubio doubled down on remarks by other top Trump advisers that the US could coerce Maduro through its campaign of strikes on alleged drug boats travelling toward the United States. We reserve the right, and have the right, to utilise every element of national power to defend the national interest of the United States, said Rubio."
"The recent seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela has led to a full-scale upheaval in the dark fleet that ferried oil from the heavily sanctioned country, according to industry data shared with the Guardian, in a move that experts have said will cut significant revenues to Maduro's government. Of more than 30 sanctioned tankers that operate in Venezuelan waters, many are now sheltering in the Indian Ocean in order to avoid interdiction."
US officials, including the president and top advisers, have not excluded the possibility of military action against Venezuela. Marco Rubio affirmed the option to use all elements of national power and indicated a goal to change the current Venezuelan regime. Nicolás Maduro urged the navy to escort tankers that are defying a major US fleet presence in the region. The seizure of a sanctioned tanker triggered disruption in a covert oil transport network and prompted many sanctioned vessels to reroute or shelter in the Indian Ocean. Maritime tracking data show a significant shift in vessel movements and attempts to evade interdiction, with some ships trapped or manipulating locations.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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