Senator Claims Trump Is ‘Sleepwalking Us Into a War’ With Venezuela for Its Oil
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) accused President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth of “sleepwalking” the United States into a war with Venezuela in an effort to obtain the country’s oil and other resources.
Coons joined MS NOW’s Nicolle Wallace on Tuesday’s Deadline: White House after he attended a briefing where he saw footage of a controversial September strike against an alleged drug-smuggling boat.
According to a Washington Post report, Hegseth gave a “kill them all” order — something Navy Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley later denied — against an alleged drug smuggling boat of the Trinidad coast. The boat was struck twice on Bradley’s orders, with the second strike killing two survivors. The operation has raised bipartisan concerns.
Coons called for more transparency on Trump’s foreign boat strikes, as he fears the real motivation is to spark a war between Venezuela and the United States. Trump and others have accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of heading an operation sending drugs into the United States. Maduro’s recent election victory has been contested, with the U.S.-based Carter Center confirming his opposition’s tally finding far more votes against Maduro than for him.
Coons said:
You see the strike that kills two individuals standing on top of a floating piece of wreckage, waving at something, presumably the plane that is closing in on them to kill them. And the larger frame here that matters is whether this entire undertaking is a good use of the exquisite and expensive resources of our Special Forces. Whether these drugs were on their way to the United States at all, there’s been no proof of that. And whether this is the most effective way to actually interrupt the Cartels that are poisoning Americans with drugs — of course, I support interdicting drugs on their way to the United States, but the way this is being done risks separating us from our partners and allies.
The British have stopped sharing intelligence with us and it risks undermining the credibility of our work around the world to promote American security. I’m afraid that Secretary Hegseth and President Trump are sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela, and that regime change and access to the critical mineral resources and oil and gas of Venezuela is the real purpose and real goal here.
Watch above via MS NOW.
