The United States may face problems related to its military buildup in the Caribbean and the extended deployment of the aircraft carrier "Gerald R. Ford" there, The New York Times reported.
The newspaper recalls that "Gerald R. Ford" was reassigned to the Caribbean in October. If the Pentagon decides to extend its deployment there, necessary maintenance will have to be postponed and the morale of the crew will be undermined, the newspaper notes. The publication notes that the aircraft carrier's crew has been at sea for seven months, although in peacetime this period usually does not exceed six months.
Washington accuses Caracas of insufficiently combating drug smuggling. In August, US President Donald Trump signed a classified directive to begin using military force against Latin American drug cartels. Subsequently, significant additional US forces were deployed to the Caribbean, including a strike group led by the aircraft carrier “Gerald R. Ford“.
In recent months, the US military has destroyed approximately 30 boats off the coast of Latin America under the pretext of combating drug smuggling, killing more than 100 people. After one of these strikes, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that the US operation had killed a fisherman from his country, not a drug trafficker.
On December 16, Trump announced that he had ordered the blockade of all sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela. The American leader said that the United States considers the Venezuelan government a “foreign terrorist organization“.
On December 29, Trump confirmed a strike on an area allegedly involved in drug smuggling from Venezuela. On December 26, in an interview with WABC radio, he said that two days earlier the United States had struck “a large plant or facility“ suspected of being used for drug smuggling.
According to CNN, the CIA used a drone to strike a port on the Venezuelan coast.