Trump considers attack on Venezuela. And moves aircraft carrier to the Caribbean
Maduro accuses the US president of 'inventing a war'
US President Donald Trump is considering targeting cocaine facilities and drug trafficking routes inside Venezuela, although he has not yet decided whether or not to proceed, three US officials told CNN. On Friday, outside signals pointed to a potential far-reaching military escalation, with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ordering the Navy's most advanced aircraft carrier strike group, currently stationed in Europe, to head to the Caribbean region, as part of a massive reinforcement of US forces. Trump also authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
The US president has not ruled out taking a diplomatic approach with Venezuela to stem the flow of drugs into the US, two officials said, even after the administration broke off active talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in recent weeks. "There are plans on the table that the president is considering" regarding operations on targets inside Venezuela, one administration official told CNN, adding that he "has not ruled out diplomacy."
As for aircraft carriers, the USS Ford, which can carry up to 90 aircraft, is currently deployed in the Mediterranean Sea along with three destroyers. It will probably take several days for the ships to reach South America. The deployment of an aircraft carrier is a major increase in military power in a region that has already seen an unusual US military build-up in the Caribbean Sea and in the waters off Venezuela.
“A sostegno della direttiva del presidente volta a smantellare le organizzazioni criminali transnazionali (TCO) e a contrastare il narcoterrorismo a difesa della patria, il segretario alla Guerra ha ordinato al Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group e alla flotta aerea imbarcata di recarsi nell’area di responsabilità (AOR) del Comando Sud degli Stati Uniti (USSOUTHCOM)”, si legge nel post del portavoce del Pentagono. “La maggiore presenza delle forze statunitensi nell’area di responsabilità dell’USSOUTHCOM rafforzerà la capacità degli Stati Uniti di individuare, monitorare e contrastare gli attori e le attività illecite che compromettono la sicurezza e la prosperità della patria degli Stati Uniti e la nostra sicurezza nell’emisfero occidentale. Queste forze miglioreranno e aumenteranno le capacità esistenti per contrastare il traffico di stupefacenti e indebolire e smantellare le TCO”, aggiunge.
Faced with these movements, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the US of 'inventing a war' after sending the world's largest warship to the Caribbean in a serious escalation of military build-up in the region.
