Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said Tuesday on Newsmax that President Donald Trump will hold Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro accountable for trafficking drugs and people into the United States.
He warned that Maduro's only chance to avoid arrest is to flee to Russia or China before the time for diplomacy ends.
Scott told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" that Trump is committed to dismantling the narcotics pipelines and human-trafficking networks that he says Maduro oversees.
He described the Venezuelan ruler not as a legitimate head of state but as the leader of a multinational criminal enterprise.
"The president-elect [in Venezuela] is [Edmundo] González," Scott said. "Maduro is the head of drug cartels."
"So, the president should meet with him and what he should say is, 'You better get your butt out of Venezuela. Your days are numbered. You might as well move to Russia or China right now,'" he continued.
Scott said Trump's posture stands in stark contrast to recent Democrat administrations that, he said, failed to deter Maduro's abuses.
"I think this president, in contrast to [former President Joe] Biden, in contrast to [former President Barack] Obama, he is going to hold Maduro accountable," he said.
Scott underscored that Maduro has already been indicted in the United States on narcoterrorism charges, giving Trump's administration the legal authority and the political willingness to pursue Maduro aggressively.
"He's under indictment in New York, so if he doesn't get to Russia or China soon, he will be arrested and he will be imprisoned in the United States," Scott said. "That's what's going to happen."
The senator predicted that Maduro will eventually leave Venezuela under pressure, just as other embattled autocrats have in the past.
He cited Panama's Manuel Noriega as a precedent, saying the Venezuelan leader risks the same fate if he refuses to step aside.
Scott also emphasized the human toll of Maduro's rule, describing Venezuelan children sleeping on streets and families starving as a result of government repression and economic collapse.
He said Maduro's role in human trafficking makes his removal not only a geopolitical imperative but a moral one.
"Who raises somebody to treat human beings like that? That would traffic another human being? Like, who does that?" he asked.
"How can you go to bed, sleep at night and know that what you did was harm a young girl or made sure a little baby died because they didn't have medicine, or watch a child starve to death? And that's exactly what Maduro has done."
"However he is taken out of power, it will be a good day for the world," Scott added.
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