Politicians, and they leak information as liquids seep through filters». The use of the US military in a drug trafficking campaign has raised questions about whether Trump is preparing for a ground attack on Venezuela, and also whether he should in that case seek authorization from Congress. Last Wednesday, the House of Representatives rejected two Democratic resolutions calling for a halt to strikes and «hostile acts in or against Venezuela» before obtaining authorization from the body. Trump had imposed a naval blockade on «sanctioned oil tankers» leaving and entering Venezuela, in a new escalation of the pressure campaign he is waging against Caracas. He wrote on his Truth Social platform days after US forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela: «I have ordered a complete and total blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela». He added that the massive US naval fleet deployed in the Caribbean «will grow larger» until Venezuela «returns to the United States all the oil, land, and other assets that they stole from us», as he put it. The US president did not specify what oil or land he was referring to, but Venezuela nationalized its oil sector in the 1970s. The US military announced that it killed five people suspected of involvement in drug trafficking after targeting two boats in the Pacific, raising the death toll from the US military operation against smuggling to about 104. The Trump administration has been conducting such strikes in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific since last September, but it has not provided any solid evidence that the boats were involved in smuggling, which raises questions about the legality of the operations. US Southern Command said in a statement on the X platform the day before yesterday that the latest strikes targeted two boats in international waters that «were engaged in drug smuggling operations», adding that three people were killed in the first boat and two in the second. According to figures from the France Press agency, based on official data, the raids have so far killed 104 people. Trump, for his part, confirmed that he does not need Congress's approval to carry out strikes against Venezuela, citing concerns about information leaks. Trump, in response to a journalist's question about whether he intended to seek Congress's approval for ground strikes against Venezuela, said: «I have no problem informing them.. I am not obligated to», adding: «I just hope they don't leak information. As you know, people leak information like that». Later, during the era of former President Hugo Chávez, companies were forced to hand over majority control of Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA. Trump continued: «The illegitimate Maduro regime uses oil from these stolen oil fields to fund itself, drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping».
