House Republican Says ‘We Need To Go In’ Venezuela Because It ‘Will Be a Field Day’ for Oil Companies

Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) said the U.S. must and will “go in” Venezuela, stating that American oil companies will have a “field day” in the petroleum-rich country.

Appearing on Fox Business on Monday, Salazar called for the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. In recent months, President Donald Trump has bombed Venezuelan vessels in the Caribbean that he alleges were carrying drugs and “narcoterrorists.” At least 80 people have been killed in the strikes. The Trump administration has provided no evidence to justify the bombings, which are legally dubious, regardless. Notably, Venezuela is not a producer of fentanyl.

This week, the Trump administration designated Maduro as a member of a foreign terrorist organization called “Cartel de los Soles,” which some experts say may not actually exist.

Fox Business host David Asman asked Salazar, “Do you think the pressure that Maduro has received will force him to leave on his own?”

“Oh, I think Maduro is not Fidel Castro,” she replied before saying the U.S. is “about to go in” Venezuela and that doing so will be a boon for U.S. oil companies:

Maduro is not a brave boy. So now that he has understood that he’s on that very nefarious list of the terrorist organization, that the airspace above Venezuela has been closed off, and the commercial airlines from the United States are not flying, he’s understanding that we’re about to go in. He understands that he is– he has been our enemy for the last 25 years. Venezuela, for those Americans who do not understand why we need to go in, for three– basically, for three reasons.

You’re on Fox Business. Venezuela for the American oil companies will be a field day because there will be more than a trillion dollars in economic activity. American companies can go in and fix all the oil pipe, the whole oil rigs and everything that has to do with the Venezuelan petroleum companies or everything that has to do with oil and the derivatives.

Salazar’s response prompted Asman to ask the obvious follow-up question.

“You use the phrase ‘when we go in.’ What exactly does that mean?” he said. “I mean, for example, the military in Venezuela, even though they’re paid hoodlums for the most part, they still may be willing to fight to hold on to power. I mean, what happens if they don’t leave peacefully?”

The congresswoman responded that she does not believe that the Venezuelan military would be willing to fight for Maduro.

“I don’t think they’re going to,” she said.

Watch above via Fox Business Network.

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