Just two weeks ago, Trump mentioned oil as a justification for his military buildup off Venezuela’s coast. Trump has, for years, expressed his belief that the United States had the right to confiscate oil using the military. Trump, in his remarks Saturday, repeated a number of his common lies about Venezuela and drug smuggling. He claimed that each of the alleged drug smuggling boats he has ordered destroyed in recent months represented 25,000 American lives saved. Trump also claimed, again, that Venezuela had dumped thousands of its criminals and mentally ill people into the United States.

Source: Huffington Post January 03, 2026 18:25 UTC