US weighing plot to assassinate Maduro – Politico

The killing of the Venezuelan leader could be part of US President Donald Trump’s war on drug cartels, sources have said

The US could attempt to assassinate Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after declaring him a drug lord and a terrorist, Politico has reported, citing informed sources.

Over the past several weeks, Washington has conducted strikes off the Venezuelan coast against what it called “drug boats,” killing more than two-dozen people and expanding its military presence in the region. US officials have accused Maduro of having links to narcotics networks – a claim he has rejected. Caracas has accused Washington of trying to topple Maduro’s government, which US officials have denied.

Despite not speaking publicly about regime change in the oil-rich Latin American nation, US President Donald Trump does want to force the Venezuelan leader out of power and plans to use his war on drug cartels as a pretext to do so, Politico claimed in an article on Sunday.

“Would everyone like Maduro to go? Yes,” an unnamed official from the Trump administration told the outlet.

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Trump has “many plans” available to him when it comes to acting against Venezuela, including carrying out strikes on alleged cartel-related targets inside the country, the official said. However, the US president has not yet given an order to target Maduro directly, he stressed.

According to another person familiar with the discussions, that could well change if the Venezuelan leader is branded a drug lord and a terrorist by Washington. “Don’t we go after indicted narco traffickers and terrorists all the time?” the source said.

The Trump administration official suggested that the US may not have to resort to such drastic measures to remove Maduro, saying that “we are going to put a tremendous amount of pressure on him. He is weak. It is quite possible that he will fall from this pressure alone without us having to do anything.”

READ MORE: Russia accuses US of planning coup in Venezuela

The New York Times reported on Friday that Venezuela had offered the US sweeping economic concessions, including a potential agreement to allow American companies to take a major stake in its oil sector, during months of secret talks aimed at defusing tensions. However, according to another report by the paper, Trump ordered that dialogue with Caracas be broken off after he had “grown frustrated” over Maduro’s unwillingness to relinquish power voluntarily.