The US Navy confirmed on Sunday that its most advanced warships have arrived in the Caribbean Sea as the White House continues to make threats against Venezuela.
one in statementThe Navy said the USS Gerald R. Ford and her accompanying carrier strike group – consisting of fighter jets, two guided-missile destroyers, and other support ships and aircraft – joined several other U.S. warships already in the Caribbean as part of Operation Southern Spear.
About a dozen Navy ships and approximately 12,000 sailors and Marines are currently deployed to the Caribbean as part of the operation.
Admiral Alvin Holsey, head of US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees the Caribbean and Latin America, said in a statement that US forces are “ready to respond to international threats that seek to destabilize our region.”
Why is America increasing its military power in the Western Hemisphere?
The US has recently been very active off the coasts of several Latin American countries, especially Venezuela, where it has declared war against international “narco terrorism”. This designation is important, allowing the use of US military force in combat.
Over the past several weeks, the US has carried out at least 20 attacks on small boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, killing at least 80 people whom Washington claims were drug smugglers.
The US has not yet provided evidence of criminal activity by any of those killed.
Critics condemn these attacks as illegal extrajudicial killings, regardless of any crime.
US conducts naval exercises with regional partners off the coast of Venezuela
The deployment comes amid ongoing US military exercises with Trinidad and Tobago.
At its closest point, just seven miles (11 kilometers) off the Venezuelan coast, Trinidad and Tobago itself has become a stopover for drugs en route to the US and Europe and its prime minister has welcomed the US attacks.
The exercises on the slate include some with soldiers from the Marine 22nd Expeditionary Unit deployed aboard Navy ships off the coast of Venezuela for the past few months.
Venezuela views the military buildup as a clear threat.
On Saturday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro described the drills as an “irresponsible” act of aggression.
A message for Maduro
The US does not recognize Nicolas Maduro as the rightful president of Venezuela and says he should resign.
Washington has also offered a $50 million (€42 million) reward for his capture if he faces charges of leading a drug cartel.
President Donald Trump has suggested that US troops need to take their fight beyond the sea to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the US.
Trump recently told CBS told to
He reportedly doubted the US would go to war with Venezuela, but felt Maduro’s days were numbered.
While analysts say the USS Ford Carrier Strike Group may not be suitable for drug interdiction, it severely increases the pressure on Maduro to leave.
Trump knows ‘to some extent’ what he’s going to do
On Friday, after meeting with military advisers, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he had “kind of made up his mind” about what to do.
Senate Republicans recently rejected legislation that would have restricted his ability to launch an attack on Venezuela without congressional approval.
Maduro says the US is “engineering” a war against him and that “the Venezuelan people are ready to defend their homeland against any criminal invasion.”
Asked about the US pulling its weight in this way, Elizabeth Dickinson of the International Crisis Group, a think tank, said, “This is at the heart of what it means to be a US military power once again in Latin America.”
“And,” he added, “it has raised a lot of concerns not only in Venezuela but throughout the region. I think everyone is watching with bated breath to see how willing the United States is to actually use military force.”
Edited by: Zack Crellin