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AMID reports by Reuters of an anti-drug US military deployment into the South Caribbean, no comment was made by US government sources on this operation and no reaction was proffered by the Venezuelan government, some of whose members have US bounties on their heads for alleged narco-trafficking.
The US State Department posted a tweet on X citing Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlining how the US was addressing drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.
“There are designated narco terrorist groups operating in the region, some of them utilizing international airspace, international waters to transit poison into the United States, and those groups will be confronted. @POTUS (Donald Trump) has made that clear.” Earlier that day, the US State Department in a tweet offered a US$5 million reward for help to arrest the leader of Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua organisation which it accused of "a campaign of terror throughout our hemisphere."
A Reuters story said two unnamed sources had disclosed the deployment of US air and naval forces to the southern Caribbean Sea to address threats from Latin American drug cartels.
"The sources had few details of the operation, but President Donald Trump has wanted to use the military to go after Latin American drug gangs that have been designated as global terrorist organizations. The Pentagon had been directed to prepare options."
The story said Trump has made cracking down on drug cartels a central goal of his administration, part of a wider effort to limit migration and secure the US southern border, noting the recent deployment of two warships to this end.
Reuters quoted its sources speaking on the latest action.
"This deployment is aimed at addressing threats to US national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region.
"The Trump administration designated Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and other drug gangs as well as Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua as global terrorist organizations in February, as Trump stepped up immigration enforcement against alleged gang members."
Elsewhere the US military has increased its airborne surveillance of Mexican drug cartels to collect intelligence to determine how to best counter their activities, Reuters said, noting Mexico's rejection of Trump's offer of troops to visit Mexico to help combat drug trafficking.
In 2020 the US put a bounty on the head of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of US$15 million. In January this was raised to US$25 million. On August 7, this was doubled to US$50 million.
On August 7, Rubio announced the reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Nicolás Maduro for violating US narcotics laws.
"For over a decade, Maduro has been a leader of Cartel de los Soles, which is responsible for trafficking drugs into the United States," Rubio said, saying the US Treasury designated the cartel as a terrorist group on July 25
"Since 2020, Maduro has strangled democracy and grasped at power in Venezuela," Rubio said. "Maduro claimed to have won Venezuela’s July 28, 2024, presidential election but failed to present any evidence that he had prevailed. The United States has refused to recognize Maduro as the winner of 2024 election and does not recognize him as the President of Venezuela."
In response, Venezuelan foreign minister Yvan Gill had accused the US of "a crude political propaganda operation."
The post Silence as US military heads to southern Caribbean appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.