US President Donald Trump, sending Christmas greetings to the American armed forces, emphasized the successes of military operations against drug trafficking at sea and said that efforts will be redirected to land operations, News.bg reports.
“Now we will focus on land“, Trump told journalists from the presidential pool. According to him, illegal drug trafficking by sea has been reduced by 96 percent as a result of the measures taken.
The American head of state also paid special attention to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS “Gerald Ford“, noting that the ship is in an “interesting place“ in the Caribbean Sea. The statement was made during a video call with military personnel.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing its sources, that the US military command has deployed special-purpose aircraft to the Caribbean region, as well as transport aircraft carrying military personnel and ammunition.
According to the information, at least ten V-22 tiltrotor planes have been transferred from the “Cannon“ air base in New Mexico. In addition, Boeing C-17 military transport aircraft have arrived in Puerto Rico, taking off from the “Fort Stewart“ bases and “Fort Campbell“.
For several months, the United States has been increasing pressure on Venezuela through a series of actions, including the deployment of thousands of troops and an aircraft carrier strike group in the Caribbean Sea, strikes on suspected drug trafficking channels and repeated warnings to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Donald Trump also previously imposed a blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers heading to Venezuela as part of a broader strategy of economic and political pressure on the country.