Trump doesn't rule out war with Venezuela

Washington (United States) (AFP) - US President Donald Trump left open the possibility of war with Venezuela, as his top diplomat Marco Rubio vowed Friday to enforce a blockade on the country's oil wealth.

Asked in an interview with NBC News conducted Thursday about a war with Venezuela, Trump said, "I don't rule it out, no."

Trump declined to say whether he wants to oust President Nicolas Maduro, after saying in an earlier interview that the leftist firebrand's "days are numbered."

"He knows exactly what I want," Trump replied. "He knows better than anybody."

Rubio, who was repeatedly asked about Venezuela during a two-hour news conference at the State Department which he addressed both in English and Spanish, also declined to answer explicitly if the United States was aiming to overthrow Maduro, but he promised to press on.

"It is clear that the current status quo with the Venezuelan regime is intolerable for the United States," Rubio said.

"So yes, our goal is to change that dynamic, and that's why the president is doing what he's doing," he said of Trump.

Rubio, a Cuban American and vociferous critic of the communist government in Havana, has pressed for a hard line on Venezuela after Trump initially appeared open to a transactional relationship with Maduro. Rubio did not rule out talks with Maduro.

Trump earlier this week declared that Venezuela is "completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America."

Trump vowed that the United States would stop Venezuela's shipments of oil, in what he described as enforcement of sanctions imposed unilaterally by the United States.

"There's nothing that's going to impede our ability to enforce US law when it comes to sanctions," Rubio said.

Hardline Trump aide Stephen Miller has accused Venezuela of "expropriation" as US companies were involved in early oil exploration on sovereign Venezuelan territory.

No declaration of war

Venezuela, which has the world's largest proven oil reserves, has promised security to keep its ships sailing. The oil is critical to Venezuela's budget and offers a key lifeline for Cuba.

In its latest pressure, the Trump administration on Friday imposed sanctions on several more family members or associates of Maduro's family.

But the administration has stopped short of seeking formal approval by Congress, which constitutionally is in charge of declarations of war.

"I'm not going to speculate about things that, you know, haven't happened and may never happen," Rubio said.

"I can tell you that to this point, nothing has happened that requires us to notify Congress or get congressional approval or cross the threshold in the war," he said.

The House of Representatives, narrowly controlled by Trump's Republicans, on Wednesday rejected a bid to restrict Trump from attacking Venezuela without congressional approval.

A Quinnipiac poll taken this month found that 63 percent of US voters opposed military action in Venezuela, with only 25 percent in favor.

Trump has long criticized US interventionism overseas and promised to keep the country out of wars, although he has also insisted on US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere.

The administration previously argued that its military deployment was in response to drug trafficking, with the United States sinking boats to kill people it alleges were smugglers.

Some lawmakers have alleged a war crime on September 2 when the United States carried out a second strike to kill survivors of an initial hit on a boat.