Trump puts Maduro allies on notice: 'What happened to Maduro can happen to them'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, whose political rise was tied to his “America First” brand of politics, defended his decision to remove Venezuela’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday.

“Under our new national security strategy, American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again,” Trump said at a Mar-A-Lago news conference.

Trump warned Maduro’s allies that the United States would maintain a strong military presence surrounding the country.

“The American armada remains poised in position, and the United States retains all military options until United States’ demands have been fully met and fully satisfied,” Trump said. “All political and military figures in Venezuela should understand what happened to Maduro can happen to them.”

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.