WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said that it would be a “smart” move for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to relinquish power, as the United States continues to ramp up military and economic pressure on the South American nation.

Responding to questions about whether his administration’s current strategy is designed to force Maduro from office, Trump remained noncommittal about the specific endgame but was clear about his advice to the Venezuelan leader.
“Well, I think it probably would,” Trump said when asked if the goal was to force Maduro out.

“Can’t tell. That’s up to him what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for him to do that. Again, we’re going to find out.”

“Look, Venezuela did terrible things to the United States,” Trump said. “Hundreds of thousands of people, millions of people, into our open border. They sent their criminals, they sent their prisoners, they sent their drug dealers, they sent their mentally insane and incompetent people into our country, more than any other country.”

Trump noted that while other nations, including the Congo, had seen similar movements of people, he blamed the previous administration for the scale of the crisis at the US southern border.

“We just let them come right in because we were run by a stupid president,” Trump added. “But you don’t have a stupid president anymore.”

While the White House has officially framed its increased Caribbean military presence as an anti-drug operation, these latest comments–coupled with the recent seizer two tankers off the coast of Venezuela this month, and on Sunday (local time), they began pursuing what it described as a “dark fleet” vessel in international waters near Venezuela after the ship refused to stop and continued sailing, CNN reported.

The vessel, identified as Bella 1, was sailing toward Venezuela to load oil when US Coast Guard personnel attempted to board it.

According to US authorities, Bella 1 is under American sanctions for links to Iranian oil and is viewed as part of a “shadow fleet” used to transport crude from sanctioned countries. A judicial warrant had already been issued for the vessel’s seizure.

However, the Venezuelan government had labelled the move an “act of piracy” and a direct attempt by the United States to seize the country’s energy resources and topple its leadership.