In a surprise action, the Secretary of War of the United States, Pete Hegseth, visited this Monday Puerto Rico Amid the increase in US military presence in the Caribbean under the alibi of fighting drug trafficking posters.
Meanwhile, his Venezuelan couple, General Vladimir Padrino López, said that Venezuela remains vigilant and “without fear”, ready to defend his sovereignty before what qualifies as a threat.
Hegseth arrived at the American colonial enclave accompanied by the General of the Air Force Dan Caine, president of the Joint General Staff, to support the training of hundreds of Marines in Puerto Rico, an activity that began since the end of August, He said The agency Associated Press (AP).
Governor Jenniffer González said that both officials visited the base of the National Air Guard Muñiz, in Carolina, to hold meetings with military and local authorities, and to thank them for their dedication in the fight against drug trafficking.
According to military sources that preferred anonymity, the United States prepares to deploy 10 F-35 combat aircraft in Puerto Rico for specific operations against organizations dedicated to drug trafficking in the region.
This expansion adds to the deployment of military ships in the Caribbean waters, part of a wide strategy against drug trafficking networks, which in recent days included an American attack against a barge from Venezuela that, according to Washington, transported drugs of the Venezuelan criminal band of Aragua. The attack left 11 dead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CB8C3WKAL0
Contrasts and protests in Puerto Rico
The growing military presence has generated concern and protests in Puerto Rico. Hundreds of protesters gathered this Sunday at the base of the National Guard in Carolina, carrying banners that said “not to war” and “not to the military bases in PR”
Organizations as mothers against war expressed their rejection that the island be used as a platform for possible US military operations in the region.
This rejection remembers historical episodes such as the mass protest after death in 1999 of the Civil Guard David Sanes Rodríguez, who died in an incident during military exercises on the neighboring island of Vieques. His death generated a strong movement against the militarization of Puerto Rico and the eventual departure from the forces of the island.
Venezuela on alert
From Caracas, the Venezuelan Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino López offered a press conference in which he described the US military deployment in the Caribbean as “a direct threat” against Venezuela and denounced that it constitutes an attempt to cause a regime change in the country.
“All the deployment of destroying ships, drones and helicopters is pointing to Venezuela,” said Padrino. “Our people are on alert, without fear, but vigilant at any attempt to violate national sovereignty.”
According to a report of TelesurGodfather also detailed a balance on the recent operations of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), highlighting the seizure of 1,746 kilograms of drugs – including 938 kg of cocaine, 769 kg of marijuana and 39 kg of the synthetic drug Tusi – in addition to the arrest of 984 citizens and the dismantling of 116 groups involved in the drug trafficking
In the same week, the FANB confiscated 980 tons of smuggling merchandise, more than 172 thousand liters of fuel and 79 tons of strategic materials such as aluminum, copper and cement.
The Defense Minister insisted that Venezuela does not produce or consume drugs, and that he is the victim of armed groups that operate mainly from Colombia. He also stressed that the UN recognized Venezuela as a territory free of illicit crops.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvrwrowavk
Drug dealer condemnation in the US
While these tensions are developed, in the United States, a sentence was issued against one of the drug trafficking barons, linked to one of the most violent cartels in the region.
Eleazar Medina Rojas, aka El Checello and indicated as a high -ranking member of the Los Zetas Cartel, was sentenced to more than 31 years in prison for conspiring in the manufacture and distribution of large amounts of cocaine and marijuana.
The Department of Justice indicated that Medina Rojas must pay for seizures for 26.5 million dollars.
According to Matthew R. Galeotti, an interim deputy attorney general, Medina Rojas used “extreme violence” to control key routes that allowed smuggling more than 3 thousand tons of drugs to the southern border of Texas, causing devastation in US communities.
