The United States ordered the sending of additional ships to southern Caribbean as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to face the threats of Latin American drug cartels, two sources informed about shipping said on Monday (22).
The USS Lake Erie, a guided missile cruiser, and the USS Newport News, will arrive in the region early next week, according to sources, who asked for anonymity.
The sources refused to detail the specific mission of the shipments, but stated that recent movements aim to face the threats to US national security from “narcoterrorist organizations” specially designated in the region.
Last week, other sources told Reuters news agency that the US ordered an amphibious squad to southern Caribbean as part of the same effort.
USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima and USS Fort Lauderdale should have arrived from Venezuela’s coast on Sunday (24). Ships carry 4,500 military personnel, including 2,200 Naval Marines, the sources said.
The US president made a central goal of his government, part of a broader effort to limit migration and protect the southern US border.
The Trump government has classified Mexico and other traffickers gangs, as well as the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua, as global terrorist organizations in February, while the Republican intensified immigration inspection against alleged gang members.
