Trump thinks he can block shipments to Venezuela by posting Navy ships along their coastline
In a strange turn of national security events, President Donald Trump thinks that he can cripple Venezuela by stationing Navy ships along the coastline of the country. He seems to have forgotten that Venezuela is connected to other countries on its south, west and southeastern border.
According to Axios, five current and former officials have either directly heard Trump say it or have been briefed on his plan.
The plan would be to blockade the country in the south Carribean for at least a year and a half.
The Pentagon, by contrast, isn't taking the idea seriously, because officials think it's impractical, the Navy is already stretched too thin, and there's no legal way to justify it.
"Yes, I am," Trump confessed he's thinking about it as an option when he was asked by a reporter about it earlier this month.
"He literally just said we should get the ships out there and do a naval embargo," confessed one source who heard Trump's comments. "Prevent anything going in."
"I'm assuming he's thinking of the Cuban missile crisis," the source added. "But Cuba is an island, and Venezuela is a massive coastline. And Cuba we knew what we were trying to prevent from getting in. But here, what are we talking about? It would need massive, massive amounts of resources; probably more than the U.S. Navy can provide."
Trump's pal, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), said that if Trump made a move, conflict in the country would end fast.
"I've been saying for months that when the Venezuelan military sees an American military presence gathering force, this thing ends pretty quickly," he told Axios.
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