The head of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, will go to Puerto Rico this Monday (24) where he will visit one of the warships sent to the Caribbean to combat drug trafficking, amid the increase in the US military presence in the region and growing tension with Venezuela, reported The New York Times.
Caine’s top enlisted advisor, David Isom, is also part of the trip, which according to official information, aims to thank military personnel who support missions in the Caribbean Sea.
According to the newspaper, Caine is one of the main authors of Operation Southern Spear, an action announced by United States Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, which, according to him, will target “narco-terrorists” in the Western Hemisphere.
The New York Times states that the general must consult commanders operating in the region about preparations for a possible armada, crediting an official source.
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, considered by the US Navy as “the most capable, adaptable and lethal combat platform in the world”, arrived in the Caribbean amid a massive expansion of Washington’s military resources.
Washington has already deployed around 15,000 troops to the region, along with more than a dozen warships.
The general’s visit comes amid increased tensions between the United States and Venezuela.
Washington formally designated the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization this Monday (24), imposing additional sanctions on the alleged group, which, according to the American government, includes Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking officials.
The Caracas regime rejected what it called designating the group “non-existent”.
Despite the possibility of imposing sanctions, the measure, according to legal experts, does not explicitly authorize the use of lethal force.
Still, administration officials have argued that the designation — one of the State Department’s most serious counterterrorism tools — will give Americans expanded military options for attacks inside Venezuela.
The Cartel de los Soles is used to describe a decentralized network of Venezuelan groups within the armed forces linked to drug trafficking, according to experts.
The dictator has always denied any personal involvement in drug trafficking, and his government has repeatedly denied the existence of the alleged cartel, which some experts suggest does not technically exist in the conventional sense.
Trump was briefed by senior officials on a range of options for action inside Venezuela, including attacks on military or government facilities and special operations.
In a sign of rising tensions, the United States carried out its largest military demonstration near Venezuela on Thursday (20), with at least six American aircraft appearing near the country’s coast over several hours, including an F/A-18E supersonic fighter, a B-52 strategic bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, according to analysis by the CNN of public flight data.
Over the weekend, three international airlines canceled their flights departing from Venezuela after the US Federal Aviation Administration warned major airlines about a “potentially dangerous situation” when flying over the country, according to Reuters news agency.
