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

By Fox News · Fox News

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. 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. US COAST GUARD PURSUES THIRD 'DARK FLEET' OIL TANKER AS TRUMP TARGETS VENEZUELAN SANCTIONS EVASION NETWORK "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.…