Trump officials say the military build-up is aimed at stopping cartels, but they have also increased attacks on Maduro.

President Donald Trump has denied that he is seeking regime change in Venezuela even as he has ordered a large build-up of U.S. military assets off its coast and increased threats against the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.

"We’re not talking about that,” Trump told reporters Friday when asked if the U.S. was looking to oust Maduro—something that he attempted in his first term.

"The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela. It is a narco-terror cartel,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in August when asked about the buildup of troops in the region. “[Trump] is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi was already offering a reward of $50 million for information leading to Maduro’s arrest and seized up to $700 million of assets allegedly linked to him on Aug. 13, including luxury goods, bank accounts, and private jets. The U.S. government does not recognize the legitimacy of his last two election victories, and Trump again on Friday called Maduro’s victory in January “a very strange election to put it mild.”

  • Basic Glitch@sh.itjust.worksOP
    40·
    3 days ago

    The U.S. government does not recognize the legitimacy of his last two election victories, and Trump again on Friday called Maduro’s victory in January “a very strange election to put it mild.”

    So you’re not seeking a regime change, but you do have a country surrounded by war ships, and you did murder 11 people on a random boat on Tuesday morning, and nobody seems to have publicly heard from the dictator that you’re not trying to over throw since almost a full week ago on Monday?

    Also, you don’t believe his regime is the legitimate government of Venezuela because his victory in January was due to a “very strange election to put it mild.”