Republican lawmakers support President Donald Trump’s increasingly hostile military campaign against Venezuela, including lethal U.S. strikes against suspected drug smuggling boats and seizing sanctioned oil tankers coming to and from the South American country.
But there’s one step they aren’t willing to endorse, at least so far: a military invasion involving land-based troops.
“I don’t think having troops on the ground in Venezuela is a good idea,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) told HuffPost. “Putting pressure, in terms of the sanctions on the oil — a lot of that oil has already been sanctioned, as you know — I think it’s fine.”
“My views haven’t changed about landing ground troops or offensive operations in Venezuela. I’m not a forcible regime change guy,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) noted.
But the questions surrounding the legality, strategy and wisdom of Trump’s pressure campaign against Venezuela and its president-turned-dictator Nicolas Maduro, have so far not resulted in significant Republican pushback against the administration’s approach, even as rumors swirl of further escalations and potential pushes for outright regime change.
International Glance
A delegation of 30 Canadians, including six members of Parliament, was denied entry into the West Bank early on Tuesday.
Israeli forces withdrew to the yellow line in October as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas. The partial withdrawal left Israeli forces in control of more than half of the strip.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that Russia has deployed a newly developed hypersonic, nuclear-capable missile known as the Oreshnik on Belarusian territory and placed it on combat duty.
Families in Gaza face an agonizing choice following last week's winter storm: endure exposure in tents after floods destroyed encampment shelters along with their possessions, killing one baby due to exposure — or shelter in buildings damaged in Israeli strikes earlier in the war that could collapse without warning.
Encircled Russian troops in Kupiansk are still getting limited drone drops — and a Ukrainian official says some included flags, not food.





























