Depends……
One response from Trump Staff to Congress…
U.S. troops will have a limited role in Venezuela, Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday, after top deputies to President Donald Trump briefed senior congressional leaders on the weekend operation that removed leader Nicolas Maduro from power.
“We don’t expect troops on the ground,” Johnson told reporters after the two-hour evening briefing on Capitol Hill. “We don’t expect direct involvement in any other way beyond just coercing the … the interim government to get that going. I expect that there will be an election called in Venezuela. … It should happen in short order.”
The closed-door session was the first time top Trump administration officials briefed a group of lawmakers in person since the surprise Saturday morning raid that resulted in the capture of Maduro and his wife. Both pleaded not guilty Monday to drug trafficking and other charges in a federal courtroom in Manhattan.
Hours later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine met with top party leaders, as well as the bipartisan leaders of the Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations, Armed Services and Intelligence committees.
So far, the response to the administration’s actions in Venezuela has largely split along party lines. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters after the meeting that the briefing was “extensive” but it raised “far more questions than it answered.”
“Their plan for the U.S. running Venezuela is vague … based on wishful thinking and unsatisfying,” Schumer said….
This from Trump himself….
President Donald Trump reiterated Monday that he is prepared to send more troops into Venezuela if interim President Delcy Rodriguez stops cooperating with the U.S.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump said Rodriguez was cooperating in the wake of the U.S. military strike on Venezuela’s capital that led to the capture of the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, on Saturday. He added that his administration initially anticipated having to send in American forces again following the operation, but that he currently does not believe a second attack will be necessary….
…
Trump had threatened on Sunday that Rodriguez would “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” if she refused to cooperate with the U.S. Rodriguez had earlier called the attack “an atrocity that violates international law” and insisted that Maduro remains the country’s leader.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed those comments in a Sunday interview on ABC’s “This Week,” telling host George Stephanopoulos: “We’re not going to judge moving forward based simply on what’s said in press conferences.”…
Note….
Sec of State Rubio says don’t believe my threatening boss, Donald….
Miller gets his two cents in….
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller says the U.S. is in charge of Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
Miller told CNN on Monday the U.S. is “by definition” in control of Venezuela after it removed Maduro in a striking military raid and has established a naval blockade of the South American country.
“We are in charge because we have the United States military stationed outside the country. We set the terms and conditions,” Miller said. “We have a complete embargo on all of their oil and their ability to do commerce. So for them to do commerce, they need our permission.”…
Note….
You’ll notice Trump’s comments sure do sound like Miller’s, eh?
Simple solution— if they are wearing the gold Trump sneakers, there will not be “boots on the ground.”
He, he, he…..
Who’s running the show …..
Miller, Rubio or Trump?
Ok….I’m here for a while…..