唐纳德·特朗普总统继续加大对委内瑞拉总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗的压力，称他下台是“明智的”，并警告他不要“强硬”。
周一晚上，特朗普在佛罗里达州的Mar-a-Lago俱乐部接受记者提问时，被直接问到他的政府在委内瑞拉的最终目标是不是迫使马杜罗下台。
“嗯，我想很可能会。我不能告诉他。他想做什么由他决定。我认为他那样做是明智的。但同样，我们会找到答案，”特朗普说。
与此同时，特朗普向马杜罗发出警告。
“他可以做任何他想做的事，没关系，任何他想做的事。如果他想做些什么，如果他表现强硬，这将是他最后一次能够表现强硬，”特朗普说。
总统补充道，“我们为他准备了庞大的舰队。这是我们有史以来最大的一次，也是迄今为止南美洲最大的一次。”
美国有增强了它的军事存在近几周，15000名美国士兵和几艘军舰在加勒比海待命。
特朗普上周还下令对进出委内瑞拉的所有受制裁油轮实施他所谓的“全面封锁”，目标是政府的主要收入来源。
马杜罗表示，委内瑞拉将继续交易石油面对“封锁”，并表示政权更迭“不会发生，永远不会，永远不会。”
另外，自9月以来，美国军方在加勒比海和太平洋对涉嫌运送毒品的船只发动了数十次袭击。根据政府提供的数字，这些袭击已经造成100多人死亡。罢工引发了几个法律问题来自立法者双方的和法律专家尽管政府认为使用致命武力是对贩毒集团“战争”的一部分。
“我们会的正在启动相同的程序“土地，”特朗普周一说。土地容易多了。"
虽然特朗普继续取笑对委内瑞拉的陆地打击，但他也更进一步，威胁对其他国家进行陆地打击。
“毒品涌入的任何地方。任何地方，不仅仅是委内瑞拉，”当被问及他是否仅指委内瑞拉的地面袭击时，特朗普说。
Trump, ramping up pressure on Maduro, says it would be 'smart' for Venezuelan leader to step down
President Donald Trump is continuing to ratchet up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, saying it would be "smart" for him to step down and warning him not to play "tough."
Trump, taking reporter questions at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Monday evening, was directly asked if his administration's ultimate goal in Venezuela is to force Maduro from power.
"Well, I think it probably would. I can't tell him.That's up to him what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for him to do that. But again, we're going to find out," Trump said.
At the same time, Trump issued a warning to Maduro.
"He can do whatever he wants, it’s alright, whatever he wants to do. If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it'll be the last time he's ever able to play tough," Trump said.
The president added, "We have a massive armada for him. The biggest we've ever had and by the far the biggest we've ever had in South America."
The U.S. hasbuilt up its military presencein the region in recent weeks, with 15,000 U.S. troops and several warships standing ready in the Caribbean.
Trump last week also ordered what he called a "complete blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela, targeting the government's main source of revenue.
Maduro said Venezuela wouldcontinue to trade oilin the face of the "blockade," and has said regime change "will just not happen, never, never, never."
Separately, since September, the U.S. military has launched dozens of strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean allegedly carrying drugs. These strikes have killed more than 100 people, according to numbers provided by the administration. The strikes have several raised legal questionsfrom lawmakersof both parties andlegal experts, though the administration's justified the use of lethal force as part of what it calls its "war" on drug cartels.
"We’llbe starting the same program onland," Trump said on Monday. "The land is much easier."
While Trump continued to tease that land strikes on Venezuela, he also took it a step further and threatened land strikes on other countries.
"Anywhere drugs are pouring in. Anywhere, not just Venezuela," Trump said when asked if he was only referring to Venezuela land strikes.
