The Trump administration has not presented evidence to support its claims that the people affected by the attacks were in fact drug traffickers
The Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced that it carried out a new attack against a vessel in international waters, in which it killed three suspected drug traffickers.
Since the beginning of September, when it began a campaign sending warships to the Caribbean Sea, American forces have killed at least 83 people, whom they accuse of drug trafficking, according to an AFP report based on figures announced to the public.
“The information confirmed that the boat was involved in the illegal smuggling of narcotics,” said this Sunday (16) SOUTHCOM, which operates in the Latin America and Caribbean region. The attack took place on Saturday.
The United States has not presented evidence to support its claims that the people hit by the attacks, in more than 20 open sea operations in and around , were in fact drug traffickers.
The president of the South American country, on Saturday, classified Washington’s announcement about new joint military exercises with Trinidad and Tobago as “irresponsible”.
The United States does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela and is offering a reward of 50 million dollars (about R$265 million) for his capture so that he can face charges as head of a drug trafficking cartel.
On Friday, Trump said that, “in some ways,” he has already decided on the next steps regarding Venezuela. “I can’t tell you what it is, but we have made a lot of progress with Venezuela when it comes to stopping the flow of drugs,” he declared.
Previously, Trump had said in an interview with CBS News that he did not believe the United States would go to war with Venezuela, but that he thought Maduro’s days were numbered.
Southern Command reported this Sunday that the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group in the Caribbean Sea follows Trump’s “orders to dismantle transnational criminal organizations and combat narco-terrorism in defense of the homeland.”
*With information from AFP
