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2025-12-13 14:52:25
[US Pressure on Venezuela Escalates, Shifting from Oil Sanctions to Threats of Ground Operations] ⑴ US President Trump on the 12th again threatened the Venezuelan government, declaring that he would launch a ground operation against the country's drug cartels "soon," emphasizing that land operations are relatively easy to execute. ⑵ Trump stated that the US has blocked 96% of drugs attempting to illegally enter the US, and the focus of the next operation will shift to ground operations. He had previously threatened to expand the crackdown on Venezuelan drug cartels from the sea to land. ⑶ In response, Venezuelan Defense Minister López accused the US on the same day of attempting to blockade the Caribbean region to seize natural resources, and stated that Venezuela was resisting. ⑷ These remarks mark a new trend in US pressure on Venezuela, shifting from primarily economic means such as sanctions and seizures of oil to more direct and overt threats of military action, exacerbating regional tensions.
