President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has called off a previously anticipated second wave of strikes on Venezuela, citing improved cooperation with the country’s interim government.
The announcement comes just a week after a U.S. operation that resulted in the capture and arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, and days after the president said a second attack was on the table if the new government did not “behave.” In a Truth Social post on Friday, he revealed he has cancelled those strikes, saying the new government is now “working well” with the U.S. on rebuilding its oil and gas infrastructure and releasing “large numbers” of political prisoners.
The president has made clear, however, that the U.S. will maintain control over Venezuela for an undefined, extended period of time until the country is fully stabilized.
“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,” Trump wrote. “Because of this cooperation, I have cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks, which looks like it will not be needed.”
On Thursday, Jorge RodrÃguez, head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, announced that the government would release a significant number of foreign and Venezuelan prisoners.
Trump’s announcement comes less than a day after he said strikes were being prepared against drug cartel facilities in the country.
Despite canceling the second wave of strikes, Trump said U.S. naval assets would remain in place for the time being.
The administration’s plans in Venezuela could also face new hurdles on Capitol Hill as the Senate narrowly advanced a bipartisan resolution Thursday to block future military action in the Latin American country without congressional approval. A final vote in the Senate is expected next week, though it remains unclear whether House GOP leadership will bring the measure to the floor.
After capturing Maduro and his wife to face federal narco-terrorism charges, the Trump administration opted to back Maduro’s vice president, Delcy RodrÃguez, as interim leader rather than opposition figure MarÃa Corina Machado. The decision followed a U.S. intelligence assessment that reportedly concluded regime insiders would be best positioned to maintain short-term stability in the immediate aftermath of Maduro’s removal.
Trump had previously said Machado “doesn’t have the support” within Venezuela, but told Fox News on Thursday that he plans to meet with her next week.
“I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” said Trump.
Since Maduro’s ouster, Trump has increased his attention on Venezuela’s oil resources, saying the U.S. would need “total access” to the country’s oil fields. On Tuesday, Trump said Venezuelan authorities would give the U.S. up to 50 million barrels of oil, adding in his Friday Truth Social post that $100 billion would be invested by “Big Oil” into the country.
The president is meeting with representatives of the U.S. oil industry at the White House on Friday.
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