No.
That was the short answer from Donald Trump to a direct question from journalists about whether he plans to strike the South American country.
According to newspaper reports in the US earlier on Friday, a military attack has been decided upon, and could come very soon – information that has not been officially confirmed.
Regardless of the veracity of the various reports, the US has recently increased its military presence in the Caribbean. This week, a US destroyer was sent to Trinidad and Tobago for exercises near the coast of Venezuela – which the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called a “military provocation with the aim of provoking a war in the Caribbean”.
According to The Washington Post, Maduro has also turned to both Russia and China for help, including in the form of missiles and radar systems.
In recent weeks, the United States has carried out a number of attacks on so-called drug boats, mainly off the coast of Venezuela, in which a total of more than 40 people have been killed. Washington describes the operation as combating drug smuggling.
Donald Trump recently gave the CIA the go-ahead to carry out covert operations inside Venezuela, part of the US's attempt to put pressure on Maduro.
