VENEZUELA SLAMS TRUMP’S MILITARY OPTION
‘Sovereignty is not discussed, it’s defended’
Venezuelans stay ready to repel a military assault whenever it comes, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has said. She was firing back at US President Donald Trump’s remark that a military invasion is “an option” in Venezuela.
Speaking to the Russian media on Sunday, Rodriguez said Venezuela considers Trump’s remark “unacceptable”. If an attack is mounted on the country’s sovereignty, its army and people are fully prepared to retaliate, she stressed, calling the matter of the nation’s independence non-negotiable.
“The sovereignty is not discussed, it is defended,” she stressed.
Rodriguez’s remarks were echoed by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, who tweeted on Sunday that Trump has “confirmed he is at the forefront of the coup” by floating the military option.
Speaking to CBS on Saturday, Trump ruled out any negotiations with Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro while saying that sending the US military to Venezuela was “an option”.
Reports that Venezuela’s western neighbor may serve as a trampoline for the US troops if the “military option” is enacted have been fueled by a notepad flashed by US National Security Adviser John Bolton last week that read “5,000 troops to Colombia.” However, Bogota has since denied it had any knowledge of the implied deployment and said that Washington had not asked its permission to send in its troops.