Trump casts Maduro’s ouster as ‘smart’ move as Russia, China enter the fray

US mounts military and economic pressure against Maduro despite Democratic backlash Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Brent Sadler joins 'America Reports' to discuss President Donald Trump's increased military and economic pressure against Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump is taking his pressure campaign to the next level against Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and making it clear he doesn’t believe the Venezuelan strongman should be leading the country - all while China and Russia are speaking out on the escalating conflict involving their ally. The Trump administration has launched a series of strikes targeting alleged drug boats off the coast of Latin America in recent months, and announced this month a "complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela" as his administration has significantly beefed up its naval assets in the region. While the Trump administration has said that these efforts align with the administration’s effort to curb the influx of drugs into the U.S., the campaign also appears geared toward removing Maduro from power . This isn’t the first attempt by Trump to squeeze out Maduro - he previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó during his first term. U.S. President Donald Trump waits for the arrival of Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese at the White House on Oct. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) As a result, Trump said on Monday that Washington’s pressure campaign against Venezuela would "probably" be sufficient to coerce Maduro to step down - and made it clear he believes that’s something Maduro should be doing. "That’s up to him, what he wants to do," Trump said on Monday. "I think it would be smart for him to do that. But again, we’re going to find out." The White House has historically refused to comment on whether it is pursuing a regime change in Venezuela - even though it does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state and insists he is the leader of a drug cartel. Meanwhile, China and Russia are speaking out about U.S. actions in the region - accusing the U.S. of breaking international law after the U.S. seized multiple oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. The first seizure occurred on Dec. 10, and Trump confirmed on Monday that the U.S. is still pursuing another oil tanker that a U.S. official told Fox News Digital is a "sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion." TRUMP’S VENEZUELA OIL BLOCKADE PUTS CHEVRON IN THE MIDDLE OF A HIGH-STAKES SANCTIONS CRACKDOWN U.S. strikes on drug boats near Venezuelan waters may be targeted at taking out Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. (@realDonald Trump/Truth Social; Jesus Vargas/Getty Images) "The US practice of arbitrarily seizing other countries’ vessels grossly violates international law," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. Jian said that Beijing is against anything that "infringes upon other countries’ sovereignty and security, and all acts of unilateralism or bullying." Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said...

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