Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart said the deployment of U.S. assets off the Venezuelan coast is "not for show" and that President Donald Trump has the "legal authority to protect the U.S.'s national security."
Speaking to Noticias Telemundo, the lawmaker said Trump "has a history of defeating terrorist groups" and has declared war on "narco cartels, which are responsible for thousands of American deaths throughout the decades."
Diaz-Balart went on to say that Venezuela is being "controlled by the Cartel de los Soles," and that authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro is "not a head of state but a cartel (leader) who has taken over the country."
Asked whether the Trump administration is considering toppling Maduro, Diaz-Balart said Trump "has the legal authority to protect the U.S.'s national security." "This is not for show," he added.
Diaz-Balart is among the Republican lawmakers advocating for the fall of the Maduro regime. The most vocal one is fellow Floridian Carlos Gimenez, who on Tuesday said the U.S. will send more forces close to the South American country.
"Nicolas Maduro & his criminal narco terrorist Cartel de los Soles should be concerned. There is more to come! This clown's days are numbered," the lawmaker said in a social media post, which was responding to a quote from Maduro claiming that "8 U.S. warships carrying 1,200 missiles, along with a nuclear submarine, are targeting Venezuela."
On Monday, Gimenez said the regime is about to get "annihilated." "America, Venezuela, & the entire hemisphere will benefit enormously from the destruction of the Cartel de los Soles," Gimenez said in another social media post.
In another publication, the lawmaker sent "prayers" to the "courageous men & women of our armed forces as they approach the coasts of Venezuela."
Maduro, on his end, has spearheaded an initiative to sign up militia members, and he and other top officials have been issuing threats of their own. On Monday he accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio of wanting to "stain Donald Trump's hands with blood."
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