During a press conference held this Saturday (3) to talk about the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, sent a clear message to the leaders of Colombia and Cuba.
When asked by journalists about statements by Colombian President Gustavo Petro about the operation in Caracas, Trump stated that the Colombian government houses “cocaine laboratories” and that the drug produced in the country was being sent to the United States.
“They have factories where they produce cocaine. They are sending it to the USA. So, yes, he (Petro) has to be smart”, said the American president.
In turn, Marco Rubio stated that the operation against Maduro represented a direct blow against the influence of the Cuban communist regime in Venezuela. The Secretary of State said that, if “I were in Havana, I would be worried, even if it was a little.”
Rubio cited that the Venezuelan security structure was deeply infiltrated by agents of the Cuban regime, including sectors responsible for directly protecting Maduro and the country’s intelligence agencies.
“Basically, Venezuelan security had been colonized by Cuba,” Rubio said, adding that after Maduro’s fall, Venezuela should “declare its independence from Cuba.”
Trump also commented on the Cuban situation, classifying the island’s regime as a “very similar case” to that of Venezuela. The American president said that he is now thinking about helping the Cuban people, who, in his opinion, have suffered for decades under the Castro system. He further stated that the United States seeks to surround itself with “good neighbors and stability” in the region.
