Trump to Warn of ‘Dangers of Socialism’ in Speech About Venezuela

VOA News

U.S. President Donald Trump will warn of «the dangers of socialism» in a speech Monday in support of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognized by the United States as the South American nation’s interim president.

The White House says Trump will make remarks at Florida International University, as his administration continues to speak out against Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro. The school is in a Miami neighborhood that has the largest concentration of Venezuelans in the U.S.

While Trump has refused to rule out a U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, Congressman Eliot Engel, the Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during a congressional hearing last week that lawmakers would not support such a move.

Meanwhile, three U.S. military transport planes loaded with humanitarian aid for Venezuela landed in Cucuta, Colombia on Saturday, adding to the tons food and medicine waiting to cross the border.

The aid sent from the U.S. and many other countries has not yet reached any Venezuelans but instead sits in towns in Colombia, Brazil and Curacao.

Maduro says the aid is unnecessary and illegal.

Venezuela suffers from shortages of food medicine and other daily necessities and also has the worst inflation rate in the world. Three million people — about 10 percent of the country’s population — have fled the country.

Maduro, who has the backing of Russia and China, has told the military, which remains loyal to him, not to let any convoys of aid cross into Venezuela.

Guaido says he has a plan to bring the aid into the country on February 23 and will release the details Monday.