President Trump says he canceled a “second wave of attacks” on Venezuela because he sees progress in Caracas under the interim government.
Mr. Trump pointed to Venezuela’s decision to release political prisoners as a peace gesture.
“This is a very important and smart gesture,” Mr. Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. “The U.S.A. and Venezuela are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure.”
Mr. Trump said that while he canceled a “previously expected” round of new attacks, U.S. ships will stay in place for “safety and security purposes.”
The U.S. administration is keeping close tabs on interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez after U.S. authorities captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flew him to New York to face narco-terrorism charges.
Mr. Trump is meeting with top oil executives at the White House on Friday to discuss ways to tap into Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
He said “Big oil” will invest at least $100 billion into the country.
Mr. Trump’s moves in Venezuela are part of what’s been called the “Don-roe” doctrine, in which the U.S. is the dominant security force in the Western Hemisphere.
“It’s pretty simple: We don’t want drugs pouring into our country,” Mr. Trump told Sean Hannity of Fox News late Thursday. “We don’t want bad people coming into our county, like happened for four years under Biden, who was the disgraced worst president in the history of our country — horrible.”
