Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said in an interview with 60 Minutes that aired over the weekend that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s “days are numbered,” comments that come amid a major US military campaign in the region and threats of US strikes on Venezuelan territory.
“If I was Maduro, I’d head to Russia or China right now,” Scott said. “His days are numbered. Something’s going to happen, whether it’s internal or external, I think something is going to happen.”
Scott was a major supporter of the failed US regime change attempt in Venezuela during the first Trump administration, which involved heavy economic sanctions and backing opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom the US declared the “interim president.”
Scott told 60 Minutes that he would be “surprised” if the US invades Venezuela and claimed that if Maduro is toppled, it would also be “the end of Cuba,” vowing that the US “is going to take care of the southern hemisphere and make sure there’s freedom and democracy.”
The US senator was asked if the US would be willing to put “boots on the ground” in Venezuela. He said that the “American public is tired of forever wars right now,” making it difficult for the US to do so. Scott suggested other countries may be willing to send troops, but there’s no sign that’s the case.
While Scott doubts the US will invade or send troops to Venezuela, the Washington Examiner has reported that US military planners believe the forces in the region are now sufficient to seize and hold key strategic facilities such as ports and airfields on Venezuelan territory.
Since September 2, the US has bombed 10 boats in Latin America, including eight in the Caribbean near Venezuela, killing at least 43 people, according to numbers released by the Trump administration. The Pentagon has offered no evidence to back up its claims that the vessels were carrying drugs or information about the people it has extrajudicially executed.
US War Secretary Pete Hegseth has vowed the bombing campaign against the vessels will continue, but the US has deployed a force that is much bigger than what is necessary to take out small, defenseless boats, and US officials have been clear that the ultimate purpose of the operation is regime change in Venezuela.
US officials have justified the bombing campaign by pointing to the large number of overdose deaths in the US, but the deaths have been primarily caused by fentanyl and other opioids, which don’t come from Venezuela.
