Most Americans oppose a possible military invasion of Venezuela as part of the fight against drug cartels, according to a CBS News poll of about 2,500 Americans.
Seventy percent of respondents opposed military action, and 76% said President Donald Trump’s administration has not clearly explained its position to voters.
Meanwhile, 53% of respondents supported U.S. military attacks on vessels suspected of drug trafficking, but 72% said the U.S. government should provide evidence that drugs were being transported.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly warned that his country faces the gravest threat of U.S. invasion in 100 years. The US government has accused Venezuelan authorities of not doing enough to combat drug smuggling. Since September, the U.S. Navy has sent eight ships, one nuclear submarine, and more than 16,000 military personnel to the Caribbean. They destroyed at least 20 speedboats on the high seas and killed 76 people under unfounded accusations of smuggling drugs from Venezuela. On November 16, the Pentagon announced that the USS Strike Group, led by the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, had entered the Caribbean Sea.
American media have repeatedly reported that the United States may soon launch attacks on drug cartel targets in Venezuela.
MNA