There’s all kinds of threats flying around these days — North Korea threatening Guam, China threatening to cut off trade to North Korea, and Donald Trump threatening pretty much everyone. Now you can add a new ultimatum to the list, this one from Nicolás Maduro Guerra, the son of the Venezuelan president. He didn’t take kindly to Trump’s pronouncement that he would use military force in Venezuela if necessary, and now Guerra says not only would he retaliate if that came to pass, that retaliation would come in the form of actually taking the White House by force.
“If the unlikely event of defiling the homeland came to pass, the rifles would arrive in New York, ” Guerra announced to Venezuelan state media. “Mr. Trump, we would arrive and take the White House.”
Ignoring for a moment that the White House is not in New York, this is Guerra’s comeback to Trump’s recent comment that “Venezuela is not very far away and the people are suffering, and they are dying. We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option if necessary.”
That was a response after Maduro’s recent dismissal of Venezuelan parliament and replacement with his own Constituent Assembly. At least for now, Venezuela’s military is busy keeping the peace in Caracas, where protests have broken out amongst Venezuelans tired of food shortages, worthless currency, the not-so-mysterious disappearance of their fellow citizens, and general chaos.
Guerra isn’t the only Venezuelan to respond to Trump’s threat, though. Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said it would be a “crazy act” if Trump actually tried it. Not that it would it be the first time the U.S. involved itself in Venezuela’s political woes or the governments of Latin American nations. None of those contras have yet resulted in Venezuelans storming the White House, but as always, these are complicated situations with one very uncomplicated U.S. president in charge.
(Via CNN)