By Jack Phillips
President Donald Trump gave a warning to several Latin American countries on Monday, following the U.S. strike on Venezuela over the past weekend that led to the capture of the nation’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his detention on narco-terrorism charges.
During his trip back to Washington from Florida on Sunday evening, Trump was asked about Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico.
The president also warned Mexico that it needs to “get its act together,” referring to drug cartels operating in the country.
“You have to do something with Mexico,” Trump told reporters. “We’re going to have to do something. We’d love Mexico to do it; they’re capable of doing it, but unfortunately, the cartels are very strong in Mexico.”
Trump then said that he had spoken to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on a number of occasions, saying that the United States has offered to send troops into her country. However, he described her as “afraid” and that the “cartels are running Mexico,” not her.
As for Colombia, Trump said it “is very sick, too, run by a sick man, who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long,” referring to leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro. “He has cocaine mills … he’s not going to be doing it for very long.
Trump was then asked about whether the United States would target Colombia.
“It sounds good to me,” he said in response.
He also predicted the demise of Cuba, noting that the communist-controlled island nation depends heavily on Venezuelan oil.
“Cuba is ready to fall. Cuba looks like it’s ready to fall. I don’t know if they’re going to hold out,” Trump also said.
“But Cuba now has no income. They got all of their income from Venezuela, from the Venezuelan oil. They’re not getting any of it.
“Cuba is literally ready to fall, and you have a lot of great Cuban Americans who are going to be happy about this.”
Over the weekend, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that Cuba is being run by “incompetent, senile men” and warned the country’s regime.
“If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned at least a little bit,” he said.
After Maduro’s ouster, the new interim leader was named as Delcy Rodriguez, a Maduro deputy who was appointed by the country’s highest court over the weekend. In her first public remarks in a news conference, Rodriguez said that she believes the U.S. arrest of Maduro was illegal, that he should be returned to the country, and that he’s the rightful leader of Venezuela.
In an interview with The Atlantic on Sunday evening, Trump warned Rodriguez that she could face a fate similar to Maduro’s if she doesn’t align the government with U.S. interests.
“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump told the paper.
On Monday, Maduro and his wife are expected to appear at noon before a judge for a brief, but required, legal proceeding that will likely kick off a prolonged legal fight over whether he can be put on trial in the United States.
Maduro, as well as his wife, son, and several others, are accused of working with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States. They could face life in prison if convicted.
The Epoch Times contacted representatives for Mexico, Cuba, and Colombia for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
