An American aircraft carrier arrived yesterday Tuesday in waters off the coast, a development that signals a strengthening of the already impressive firepower of the media that Washington has deployed in the region and, at the same time, a further escalation of tension with the coast, whose government speaks of an “imperialist” threat.
The arrival of the USS Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, to support what the government says is an anti-drug operation coincided with military drills announced by Caracas, while the US, an ally of President Nicolas Maduro, strongly condemned US airstrikes against speedboats allegedly belonging to drug traffickers.
“Tackling narco-terrorism”
The Air Force “Gerald R. Ford strike force entered on November 11 the area” of responsibility of SOUTHCOM, the joint command of the US armed forces responsible for South America, it said in a press release. Its deployment, announced by Washington on October 24, is intended to “disrupt international criminal organizations and combat narco-terrorism,” according to its announcement.
The aircraft carrier, the most advanced in the US Navy, carries, among other things, four squadrons of fighter jets and is accompanied by three guided missile destroyers.
As early as August, the US deployed to the Caribbean another eight surface warships – including guided-missile destroyers and amphibious assault ships –, a nuclear-powered submarine and F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico. Officially, Washington is talking about moves as part of an operation to combat drug trafficking to the American market.
The Venezuelan government, for its part, accuses Washington of using drug trafficking as a cover to “impose regime change” in Caracas and get its hands on its large oil fields.
US President Donald Trump, who recently confirmed that he authorized covert CIA operations on Venezuelan soil, is giving rather contradictory indications of his intentions: he has referred to ground strikes in the Latin American state and said that Nicolás Maduro’s days in power are “numbered”, while at the same time ruling out the possibility of war.
“If as a democracy, as a people, we must engage in armed struggle to defend the sacred heritage of the liberators, we will be ready to win,” was the reaction of the Venezuelan president.
He signed a law creating a new defense force that has “the power” to confront the US.
“Unacceptable” blows
Along with the Pentagon’s announcement, . Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said 200,000 troops were taking part in the exercise, although movements of the armed forces were seen in major cities such as the capital Caracas.
The government has repeatedly announced military drills and maneuvers in the country. These moves get plenty of exposure in the government-aligned media, but are not always visible on the ground.
Mr. Padrino, stressing that the country is on alert and is “guarded, protected, defended”, described the US military as “mercenaries” who “kill defenseless people, whether they are drug traffickers or not”.
Since the beginning of September, the US armed forces have launched some twenty airstrikes in the Caribbean and the Pacific, claiming – without ever presenting any evidence – that they were transporting drugs, killing 76 people.
Experts question whether these businesses are legal.
Intense concern in Brazil
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, yesterday Monday called on Washington to examine the legality of the beatings, citing “strong indications” that they constitute extrajudicial executions.
Yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described these operations as “unacceptable”. “In this way, in general, countries (…) that consider themselves to be above the law act,” the head of Russian diplomacy emphasized, making statements to Russian journalists that were broadcast live by state television networks.
Nicolas Maduro, a staunch ally of Vladimir Putin, announced in May a new tightening of relations between Caracas and Moscow, with the signing of a bilateral cooperation agreement.
The deployment of more and more US military assets in the Caribbean is causing deep concern in Lula’s Brazil, as it is in Gustavo Petro’s Colombia — the social-democratic president announced via X yesterday that he had ordered the suspension of Bogota’s intelligence sharing with Washington “as long as missile attacks against ships continue.”
While even Britain, despite being one of the US’s closest allies, was forced more than a month ago to suspend information sharing with Washington on the location of vessels believed to be carrying drugs in the Caribbean because it does not want to be seen as complicit in US airstrikes, CNN reported yesterday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
When contacted by AFP, Downing Street said it did not wish to comment on security and intelligence matters.
