The three ships would reach their destination no later than Wednesday, according to the forecasts.
Miami, United States. – Three destroyers guided by missiles of the AEGIS system –USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham and USS Sampson– They will be deployed in the next few hours in the Caribbean, near the Venezuelan coast, as part of an operation to face “threats” of drug cartels in Latin America.
In total, around 4,000 sailors and marine infants will be committed to this mission, they informed Reuters Two sources aware and an American official who requested anonymity. The plan includes operating for several months in international waters and airspace.
According to the report published by the English agency shortly after 7:00 pm (Cuba time), the three ships would reach the area “in the next 36 hours.” The forecast is that the entire process develops for several months and that the media operate in international waters and airspace.
The White House assured That the United States is willing to use “all the elements of its power” to stop the flow of drugs towards its territory and “take those responsible to justice,” said spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt when consulted by the naval deployment.
In addition to the three destroyers, the operation includes several patrol and espionage aircraft P-8, other warships and at least one attack submarine, said the official consulted by Reuters. These capacities not only fulfill intelligence, surveillance and recognition functions, but can serve as a platform for “directed” actions if they are decided, the sources added.
Maduro reaction
Without referring directly to ships, ruler Nicolás Maduro assured In a speech that the country will “defend” its seas, skies and lands, and alluded to what he described as “the crazy, quirky threat of an empire in decline.”
In response to the American announcement, Maduro ordered “the mobilization of four million members of the national militia – the fifth component of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces – in the country’s territory” and ordered the activation of “all the necessary mechanisms” to guarantee national sovereignty, according to The country.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry, on the other hand, warned that Washington’s actions reveal their “lack of credibility” and put the hemispheric stability at risk: “These threats not only affect Venezuela, but also put the peace and stability of the entire region at risk, including the peace zone declared by the CELAC (community of Latin American and Caribbean states), a space that promotes sovereignty and cooperation between sovereignty Latin American peoples, ”said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Washington position and previous measures
The administration of Donald Trump has made the fight against the posters a central objective, linked to its border security policy and immigration control. Reuters recalled that in recent months at least two ships were sent to support border security tasks and fight against drug trafficking, and that air surveillance on Mexican posters increased to collect intelligence.
In February, the US government appointed as terrorist organizations to the Venezuelan gang of Aragua, the MS-13 Mara in El Salvador and six groups in Mexico-among them the Sinaloa cartel-, a qualification that Washington usually reserves for actors that resort to extreme violence for political purposes. The White House argues that transnational networks, their criminal activities and the use of violence to impose control justify that label.
At the beginning of August, President Trump signed “in secret” A directive that authorizes Pentagon To use the military force against Latin American posters declared terrorists, he revealed The New York Times. Likewise, the State Department raised to 50 million dollars the reward for information that leads to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, whom he accuses of leading the so -called “poster of the suns”; Caracas denies those accusations sharply.
