The United States will move more than 4,000 naval marine and sailors to water near Latin America and the Caribbean in one of the largest recent military movements in the region.
The operation, revealed by CNN On Friday (15), it was confirmed by US defense authorities and involves high impact resources, such as the USS Iwo Jima Amphibian group and the 22nd Expeditionary Marine Unit.
In addition, according to the broadcaster, a nuclear-propulsive attack submarine, destroyers, a P-8 P-8 recognition aircraft will also integrate the mission, which will be under the command of Southcom (Southern Command).
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Demonstration of strength
Although the US classifies the action as part of an offensive against drug cartels – defined by the Trump administration as “narcoterrorists” – authorities heard by CNN admitted that the measure acts above all as a demonstration of power.
One of the officers pointed out that military reinforcements give the commanders and President Donald Trump a wide margin of options, including direct impact operations if the order is given. American press sources claim that the movement also targets the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela.
Last week, the newspaper The New York Times It revealed that Trump has confidentially signed a guideline authorizing the use of military in actions against certain Latin American cartels, classified by the government as terrorist organizations.
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Regional reaction
The US decision caused immediate reactions. Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected any form of foreign intervention and stated that the mobilization occurs “in international waters”.
“Our opinion will always be the self -determination of peoples. Not only in the case of Mexico, but in the case of all countries in America and the Caribbean,” Sheinbaum told a news conference.
Positioning echoes fears of other governments in the region in the face of the possibility of militarization of borders. In the Pentagon himself, part of the concerns revolves around the presence of naval Marines on the mission, as they are not trained for interception or anti -drug operations, a function usually attributed to the coastal guard.
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Channel Do Panama No Radar
Submission of the task force occurs in parallel to Trump’s growing interest in Panama Canal, considered strategic for global trade. A memorandum signed by the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, states that the priority of the US Armed Forces is to “defend US territory, seal borders and repeal forms of invasion,” including drug trafficking, human smuggling and illegal migration.
The document also asks the Pentagon credible military options to ensure “unrestricted access” to the channel. In April, Washington had already signed an agreement with Panama allowing the detachment of American troops in areas adjacent to the crossing.
