The U.S. military has been steadily racking up hits on Venezuelan cartel drug boats:
It appears more military action may now be on the table as President Donald Trump has officially ended diplomatic talks with Venezuela, shutting down negotiations led by presidential envoy Richard Grenell.
The move signals potential military escalation against President Nicolás Maduro’s government and his alleged drug trafficking networks.
President Trump has stopped diplomatic discussions with Venezuela in his bid to end drug trafficking and cartels operating in the U.S., according to a report by The New York Times.The outlet cited U.S. officials and claimed Trump has closed the door on negotiations, potentially setting in motion increased military action against drug traffickers, cartel ships or President Nicolás Maduro’s government.According to the report, Richard Grenell, the special presidential envoy who was leading talks with Maduro, was informed Oct. 2. that all diplomatic contact must stop.The Trump administration has accused Maduro of overseeing a “narco-state,” indicting him on drug trafficking charges and offering a $50 million reward for his arrest.
The noose seems to be tightening considerably around Maduro and his goons.
The suspension of diplomatic engagement marks a major shift in U.S. policy toward Venezuela. The Trump administration is combining political isolation, economic pressure, and an expanded military presence near the Caribbean coast in what it describes as a campaign against organized crime and drug trafficking.In recent weeks, U.S. warships and intelligence vessels have carried out strikes on boats allegedly smuggling narcotics, operations the White House calls part of its “war on drug trafficking.” Caracas has denounced the actions as “acts of aggression,” accusing Washington of violating its sovereignty and threatening regional stability.
American officials indicate that the Trump administration has prepared several military options for the continued response.
Those operations could also include plans designed to force Mr. Maduro from power. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser, has called Mr. Maduro an “illegitimate” leader and repeatedly cited a U.S. indictment of him on drug trafficking charges.Mr. Rubio had described Mr. Maduro as a “fugitive from American justice,” and the United States increased the reward for Mr. Maduro to $50 million.A White House official said Mr. Trump was prepared to use “every element of American power” to stop drugs from entering the United States and had been clear in his messages to Mr. Maduro to end Venezuelan narcotics trafficking.
The US Navy has certainly been effective in striking drug boats, so the next set of cartel targets may be land-based.
The strikes, which have been challenged by legal scholars, follow a US decision to beef up the US Navy presence in the region, which has grown to least eight warships, one nuclear submarine, more than 4,000 troops, fighter jets, drones and surveillance planes. The force deployment is already the largest in the region since the 1989 invasion of Panama.Over the weekend, Trump said US strikes have already halted drug traffickers moving by sea routes, and that an expansion to land targets in the future was possible.“They’re not coming in by sea anymore, so now we’ll have to start looking about the land, because they’ll be forced to go by land,” Trump said.
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