A couple of weeks ago, I reported that the U.S. was deploying three Aegis guided-missile destroyers (USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson) to waters off the coast of Venezuela. They were sent as part of a major counter-narcotics operation targeting Latin American drug cartels, specifically those involved in transporting fentanyl and cocaine.
Venezuela has now countered by sending drones and its warships to patrol along its Caribbean coast.
In a video on social media, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino announced a “significant” drone deployment as well as naval patrols along its Caribbean coast, including “larger vessels further north in our territorial waters.”The move comes amid escalating tensions with Washington, which sent three guided-missile destroyers and 4,000 Marines towards Venezuela last week to curb drug trafficking.On Tuesday, a U.S. source told AFP that President Donald Trump was dispatching two more ships to the Caribbean to crack down on drug cartels.
Anonymous sources are reporting that the USS Lake Erie (a guided missile cruiser) and the USS Newport News (a nuclear submarine) are due in the region next week. Meanwhile, the Venezuelans have petitioned the United Nations, asking them to force the U.S. to end this operation.
Since returning to power in January, Trump’s attacks on Venezuela have focused chiefly on the activities of the South American country’s powerful transnational gangs. Washington accuses Maduro of heading a cocaine trafficking cartel, Cartel de los Soles, which the Trump administration has designated a terrorist organization.The United States recently doubled its bounty to $50 million in exchange for Maduro’s capture to face drug charges. Maduro has accused Trump of attempting to effect regime change and launched a drive to sign up thousands of militia members.On Tuesday, Caracas petitioned the United Nations to intervene in the dispute by demanding “the immediate cessation of the US military deployment in the Caribbean.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to organize its contingent of anti-cartel forces.
The U.S. presence in the Southern Caribbean now includes several warships and more than 4,500 personnel. Overall, the U.S. deployment comprises three destroyers, two landing dock ships, an amphibious assault ship, a cruiser, and a littoral (small and compact) combat ship, all either already in the region or en route.Each destroyer carries detachments of U.S. Coast Guard and law enforcement personnel, tasked with making arrests or detentions during drug interdiction operations, as reported by The Washington Post.
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