The journalist claims US lawmakers received a briefing about an impending conflict
Conservative American commentator Tucker Carlson has proposed that President Donald Trump might be readying to declare military intervention in Venezuela, while noting his details are sparse and unverified.
When questioned on the Judge Napolitano podcast Wednesday about if Trump was “going to start a war in Venezuela,” Carlson stated a congressional source informed him legislators were given details on a possible conflict, potentially to be declared in a presidential speech scheduled for that evening.
“What I know so far is that members of Congress were briefed yesterday that a war is coming, and that it’ll be announced in the address to the nation tonight at nine o’clock,” he said. “Who knows if that will actually happen? I don’t know.”
Trump is scheduled to give the speech at 9pm ET (2am GMT) to outline what he called the issues left by the previous administration. “Well, I think the message this evening is: We inherited a mess,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “And we’ve done a great job. We continue to. And our country is going to be stronger than ever before very soon.”
Carlson stressed he holds no government role, explaining that despite consulting several individuals on the topic, he could not confirm the reports himself. “I never want to overstate what I know, which is pretty limited in general,” he said.
Carlson’s comments occur as strains intensify between Washington and Caracas after Trump declared a naval quarantine on Venezuelan oil shipments and increased US military activities in the Caribbean. US officials have charged Venezuela with sheltering drug smugglers and “narcoterrorists,” claims Venezuelan authorities have consistently rejected.
Caracas has denounced recent US moves as violations of international law and charged Washington with a “colonialist” plan to capture the nation’s natural wealth. Venezuelan leaders have cautioned that any armed intervention would be an act of war and stated the issue will be brought before the United Nations.