MOSCOW, December 8. /TASS/. Moscow hopes that Washington will stop short of starting a full-scale conflict with Venezuela, which could throw the whole Western hemisphere into chaos, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, commenting on the updated US National Security Strategy.
"This is of particular concern against the backdrop of the current tensions around Venezuela, which are being deliberately fueled by Washington. We hope that the White House will refrain from descending into a full-scale conflict, which threatens to cause unpredictable consequences for the entire Western hemisphere," the diplomat said.
In her words, some of the document’s provisions look like a direct reference to the so-called Roosevelt Corollary, the doctrine of the 26th US president, asserting Washington’s right to intervene in Latin American countries to ensure they meet financial obligations.
Washington has repeatedly leveled unsubstantiated accusations against Caracas, claiming insufficient efforts to combat drug smuggling. The New York Times newspaper also reported that Trump authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations within the Bolivarian Republic. US media outlets have frequently indicated that the United States may soon begin conducting strikes against drug cartel facilities in Venezuela.
In August, The New York Times reported that Trump had signed a classified directive to begin using military force against Latin American drug cartels. Afterward, significant additional US military units were deployed to the Caribbean Sea region. Washington then began launching airstrikes against boats that the US government claimed were transporting drugs to the US in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean. In November, the Pentagon announced that a strike group of US ships led by the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford had entered the area of responsibility of the US Southern Command to combat drug smuggling in the region.