WASHINGTON: A US aircraft carrier is now in the Caribbean Sea to bolster an anti-narcotics campaign, the military announced Sunday (Nov 16) – a move sure to anger Venezuela – as US forces struck another alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific.
President Donald Trump has ordered a troop buildup in the Caribbean as part of an anti-trafficking initiative, but speculation has abounded that Washington may be contemplating military intervention against Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro.
The US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees American forces in Latin America and the Caribbean, had previously said that the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group had entered its area of responsibility.
On Sunday, it announced in a statement that the strike group had entered the Caribbean Sea, saying the move follows Trump’s “directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland”.
The strike group includes the most advanced US aircraft carrier, two guided-missile destroyers, and other support vessels and aircraft.
It joins several warships already in the Caribbean, with the deployment dubbed “Operation Southern Spear”.
