President cautions Venezuela’s military
Urges backing Guaido, breaking with Maduro
MIAMI — President Donald Trump called on Venezuela’s military to support opposition leader Juan Guaido and issued a dire warning if it continues to stand with President Nicolas Maduro’s government.
“You will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You will lose everything,” Trump said Monday in a speech at Florida International University in Miami before large American and Venezuelan flags.
Trump added: “We seek a peaceful transition of power, but all options are open.”
In remarks broadcast on state television, Maduro accused the U.S. president of speaking in an “almost Nazi style” and lashed out at Trump for thinking he can deliver orders to Venezuela’s military.
“Who is the commander of the armed forces, Donald Trump from Miami?” Maduro said. “They think they’re the owners of the country.”
Trump said “a new day is coming in Latin America,” as he sought to rally support among the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S. for Guaido. The U.S. recognizes him as the country’s rightful president and condemns Maduro’s government and its socialist policies.
Critics say Maduro’s re-election last year was fraudulent, making his second term illegal.
So far, Maduro isn’t budging. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Maduro said Venezuela is ready to make an economic rebound once Trump removes his “infected hand” from the country that sits atop the world’s largest petroleum reserves.
South Florida is home to more than 100,000 Venezuelans and Venezuelan-americans, the largest concentration in the country. Speaking in the presidential battleground state, Trump also sought to draw a contrast with the policies of progressive Democrats, which he brands as “socialist,” as he gears up for re-election.
Trump said that “socialism has so completely ravaged” Venezuela “that even the world’s largest reserves of oil are not enough to keep the lights on.” He added: “This will never happen to us.”
“Socialism promises prosperity, but it delivers poverty,” he said.
Trump was introduced by first lady Melania Trump and joined by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis and Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, who have all been outspoken in their criticism of Maduro’s government. Trump also spoke of the socialist governments in Cuba and Nicaragua, which have large expatriate communities in the area.
“Socialism is dying and liberty, prosperity and democracy are being reborn” throughout the hemisphere, Trump said, expressing hope that soon, “This will become the first free hemisphere in all of human history.”