MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2019) US President Donald Trump privately suggested to national security officials that his country should station Navy ships around Venezuela to prevent goods from entering and exiting the Latin American nation, Axios media outlet reported, citing five current and former US officials.
Trump has raised this idea multiple times for at least a year and a half, said the sources, who have either directly heard the president discuss the matter or have been briefed on his private comments.
"He literally just said we should get the ships out there and do a naval embargo. Prevent anything going in," one of the sources said.
However, the Pentagon did not take the idea seriously, partly because it saw it as impractical and having no legal basis, according to Axios.
"I'm assuming he's [Trump] thinking of the Cuban missile crisis. But Cuba is an island and Venezuela is a massive coastline. And Cuba we knew what we were trying to prevent from getting in. But here what are we talking about? It would need massive, massive amounts of resources; probably more than the US Navy can provide," the source added.
Venezuela has long been suffering from a humanitarian and political crisis that intensified in January when, after disputing President Nicolas Maduro's re-election, US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido illegally declared himself the country's interim president.
The United States and some other countries have recognized Guaido. However, Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey and a number of other countries have said they recognize Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.
