Trump Urges Maduro Exit, Sparks New Russia-China Backlash

Never let it be said that President Donald Trump is one to mince words. In the latest such example, President Trump repeated on Monday his admonition that Venezuelan strongman dictator Nicolás Maduro would be "smart" to step down. While President Trump has been steadily ratcheting up the pressure on El Presidente Maduro, the Venezuelan dictator has friends, too - the trouble is his primary friends are China and Russia, neither of which is in a good position to interfere in the Caribbean, unless they want to start World War 3.

This isn't helping Maduro any.

President Donald Trump is taking his pressure campaign to the next level against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and making it clear he doesn’t believe the strongman should be leading the country — all while China and Russia are speaking out on the escalating conflict involving their ally.
The Trump administration has launched a series of strikes targeting alleged drug boats off the coast of Latin America in recent months and announced this month a "complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela" as his administration has significantly beefed up its naval assets in the region.

Three, so far, in fact; three ships seized, the Skipper, the Centuries, and the Bella 1. Three ships that will forfeit their cargo to the United States; three ships that have been legally seized under a seizure warrant. They'll likely be broken up for razor blades, but what won't be happening is them continuing to run Venezuelan oil into the ports of every rogue nation on the planet.

There are a couple of purposes served here.

While the Trump administration has said that these efforts align with the administration’s effort to curb the influx of drugs into the U.S., the campaign also appears geared toward removing Maduro from power. This isn’t the first attempt by Trump to squeeze out Maduro. He previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó during his first term.

Yes, the primary stated purpose is to staunch the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. But there's an argument to be made that El Presidente Maduro is facilitating that flow, and so convincing him of the wisdom of stepping down helps the drug-control effort.

Report: Coast Guard Now Targeting Another Sanctioned Oil Ship Off Venezuela

China and Russia beg to differ.

China and Russia are speaking out about U.S. actions in the region, accusing the U.S. of breaking international law after the U.S. seized multiple oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. The first seizure occurred Dec. 10, and Trump confirmed Monday that the U.S. is still pursuing another oil tanker that a U.S. official told Fox News Digital is a "sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion."

That third tanker, the Bella 1, was seized on the 22nd of December, following President Trump's statement.

Here's the problem China and Russia have in this matter: They're on the wrong side of the planet. Russia has naval assets it could send to the Caribbean, which is more than one can say for China. The Middle Kingdom has been building a lot of ships, but they have very limited at-sea replenishment, meaning that their navy has pretty short legs. The Russians could only interfere by conducting offensive operations, in effect perpetrating an act of war against the United States; with President Trump at the wheel, that doesn't seem likely.

However this mess resolves, the parties involved will almost certainly be those in the Western Hemisphere, and President Trump's reimposition of the Monroe Doctrine shouldn't have to deal with more than gaseous emissions from Russia and China - at least where Venezuela is concerned.

Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and his renewal of the Monroe Doctrine, bad actors are going to be squeezed out of the Americas - bad actors like Nicolas Maduro.

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