It accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of playing a major role in supplying illegal drugs to the US, which Maduro denied.
Maduro also accused Washington of wanting Venezuela’s oilthat it currently sells mainly to China.
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world and Trump is known for his advocacy of fossil fuels.
The Trump administration’s crackdown continues immigration has also escalated tensions between the two countries as the US pursued a policy of mass deportation and attempted to end the legal status of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants.According to an analysis by the Pew Research Center, the Venezuelan population in the US had grown from 95,000 in 2000 to 640,000 in 2021, a growth of almost 600 percent.
The Trump administration has also tried to increase it influence in America. In december it released the National Security Strategy that suggested the US should revive the 19th century Monroe Doctrine.
According to the doctrine, the Western Hemisphere should be Washington’s zone of influence.
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machado said she “absolutely” supported Trump’s strategy.
Trump’s senior officials, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, had also called for tougher measures Cubawhich was a close ally of the Maduro government.
– Wing Kuang with additional reporting from Reuters
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