Mexico City (EFE).- United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday he would not “speculate on what may happen in the future” when asked if Washington plans to launch military operations against Venezuela, following a strike that destroyed a vessel allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean.
“I am not going to speculate on what may happen in the future,” Rubio told reporters aboard his plane en route to Mexico for a two-day visit focused on bilateral cooperation against drug trafficking organizations.
He cited both Mexican cartels and groups of Venezuelan origin, such as Tren de Aragua and the Cartel of the Suns, as key concerns.
Rubio insisted the strike, carried out by United States forces against a boat in the Caribbean, was part of Washington’s counternarcotics strategy.
“This is a counternarcotics operation. We will confront drug cartels wherever they are and wherever they operate against US interests,” he said, referring journalists to the Pentagon for further details.
Rubio emphasized that drug shipments like the one intercepted Tuesday destabilize not only the US but also neighboring countries.
“These drugs in particular were probably headed to Trinidad and Tobago or another Caribbean nation, and in that case, they only contribute to the instability those countries face,” he said.
“The president (Donald Trump) has been very clear that he will use all US power to combat and eradicate these drug cartels, no matter where they operate or how long they have been active, in order to disrupt drug trafficking into the US,” Rubio added.
He confirmed such operations will continue “as long as those boats are in the region and as long as the president is in the White House.”
Rubio is scheduled to meet Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday and later hold a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente. EFE
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