The Republican senator from Florida, Rick Scott, stated in an interview with the program 60 Minutes from CBS News that the Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is living his “final days in power”.
The statements made by the American politician, shared on social media this Sunday, contribute to a growing discourse in Washington that points towards a possible coordinated action against the Chavista regime, following years of allegations of corruption, drug trafficking, and repression.
"If I were Maduro, I would go to Russia or China right now. His days are numbered,” Scott stated during the interview.
The legislator, one of the fiercest voices against the governments of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, insisted that the United States cannot allow "socialist dictatorships to continue destabilizing the hemisphere."
His words come just weeks after President Donald Trump confirmed he had authorized covert CIA operations on Venezuelan soil, which heightened tensions with Caracas.
The report from CBS News, broadcast this Sunday, confirmed that the U.S. military has destroyed at least ten vessels allegedly involved in drug trafficking off the Venezuelan coast, resulting in the deaths of more than thirty suspects.
According to sources from the Pentagon cited by the program, the offensive is part of a strategy to "accelerate the collapse of the Venezuelan narco-state" and cut off the maritime routes that finance Maduro's regime.
In recent days, American media have reported an increase in the presence of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean, while Maduro has ordered internal military maneuvers and called upon his militias, claiming an imminent "external aggression."
The former U.S. ambassador in Caracas, James Story, supported Scott's position and described Maduro's government as "a criminal organization masquerading as a state."
Story warned that the Chavista leader controls the largest oil reserves on the planet "in alliance with the strategic competitors of the United States," referring to China and Russia.
Analysts point out that a potential fall of the Venezuelan regime would have direct repercussions on Cuba, a country that depends on subsidized oil from Venezuela to sustain its fragile economy. According to Scott, Maduro's departure "would also mark the end of Havana's economic lifeline."
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan population continues to be trapped in a devastating crisis. According to '60 Minutes', more than 70% of the residents live in poverty, amid blackouts, hunger, and a shortage of medicines.
Although the opposition won last year's presidential elections with nearly 70% of the votes, Maduro refused to relinquish power and unleashed a wave of repression that included imprisonments and torture, according to the United Nations.
The Floridian senator, closely connected to the Venezuelan and Cuban exile community in Miami, reaffirmed his support for "all democratic forces fighting against the socialist dictatorships of the continent."
Scott's statements reignite the debate over the role of the United States in Latin America and reaffirm the hardline stance of the Republican Party towards the leftist regimes allied with Havana.
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