 "Reports of imminent action have intensified as US forces build up in the Caribbean amid rapidly deteriorating relations with Venezuela. (Photo: Reuters/AFP)")
The war of words between US President Donald Trump and his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, seems straight out of a movie. In fact, recent comments made by the two leaders are indeed dialogues from two classic movies. While it is uncertain whether Trump and Maduro picked up their statements from movies or not, it is safe to say that they are trying to reach a larger audience via their speeches.
‘Hard way or easy way’
Trump on Wednesday warned Maduro of doing things “the easy or the hard way” as tensions between the two leaders flare up.
While aboard Air Force One en route to Florida, Trump chose not to clarify the specific goals of his ongoing four-month campaign against Venezuela. However, there is widespread speculation that the campaign is aimed at toppling Maduro, who is widely accused of rigging last year’s presidential election.
“I’m not going to tell you what the goal is. You should probably know what the goal is,” the US president said, adding that he “might” meet Maduro.
The line is actually from the 1991 movie The Hard Way, where Captain Brix (Delroy Lindo) tells John Moss (James Wood), “You got two ways to deal with this: you got the easy way, you got… the hard way”.
‘Defend every inch’
Meanwhile, Maduro has indicated that he is ready to pull out all stops to defend Venezuela amid Trump’s ‘war on drugs’. The US president has often indicated that he will send troops for a ground operation in Venezuela after conducting several missions at sea.
Holding a rally in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, Maduro, clad in military fatigues, said, “We have to be capable of defending every inch of this blessed land from any sort of imperialist threat or aggression, wherever it comes from.”
“I swear before our Lord Jesus Christ, that I will give my all for the victory of Venezuela,” he added."
The phrase ’every inch’ also finds a mention in Any Given Sunday, where legendary actor Al Pacino delivers his famous ‘inch by inch’ monologue.