Washington intends to continue striking vessels suspected of drug trafficking, including oil tankers, stepping up pressure on Venezuela. The campaign will persist until, in the assessment of the United States, a number of outstanding issues are resolved, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with NBC News.
“We will continue doing this and may take additional steps until the issues that require resolution are resolved,” Rubio said.
He stressed that the effort is not directed against the state itself. “We are at war with drug trafficking organizations. This is not a war against Venezuela,” the secretary of state added.
According to Rubio, pressure from Washington will remain in place until Caracas addresses the problems that emerged under the rule of Nicolas Maduro and persist to this day. “As long as Venezuela fails to resolve the problems that existed under Maduro and continue to exist, it will remain under pressure from the United States,” he said.