Above photo: Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters.
The US president has threatened a land invasion of the Latin American nation ‘very soon’.
US lawmakers filed a resolution on 3 December that would block a US military attack on Venezuela unless it can win congressional approval.
The move, initiated by a group of Democratic and Republican Senators, came in response to repeated statements by US President Donald Trump in recent days claiming that a land invasion of the Latin American nation to combat drug traffickers would begin “very soon.”
The president claims, without evidence, that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro heads a criminal cartel trafficking drugs by boat to the US.
In recent months, the US military has carried out at least 21 strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean, killing some 83 people.
At the same time, the US has completed a massive military buildup in the region in preparation for war, including troops, naval ships, and warplanes.
Trump’s threats prompted Democratic Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia, Chuck Schumer of New York, and Adam Schiff of California, and Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky to file the war powers resolution on Wednesday.
The resolution will require Congress to vote to approve going to war in the coming days.
“We are being dragged into a war with Venezuela without legal basis or congressional authorization, and the Senate must be prepared to stop an illegal war that would needlessly place at risk thousands of American service members,” Schiff said in a statement.
In contrast, President Maduro revealed he had held a “respectful and cordial” phone conversation with Trump 10 days ago, TeleSUR reported Wednesday.
“When there are important things, they have to be done quietly. Until they happen,” Maduro stated.
The Venezuelan president welcomed efforts to resolve any conflict with the US using peaceful means.
“The United States, its entire people, its youth, are tired of endless wars,” Maduro noted, citing previous US wars of aggression in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya.
He also cited the Venezuelan people’s tenacity in the face of colonization, referring to them as “resolute beasts.”
Reuters claimed on Monday, citing four sources familiar with the call, that “Maduro told Trump he was willing to leave Venezuela if he and his family received full legal amnesty, including the removal of US sanctions and the end of a flagship case before the International Criminal Court.”
