The President of the United States, Donald Trump, warned this Thursday that the Armed Forces “will begin very soon” to “detain” “Venezuelan drug traffickers” by land, as he considers that military operations at sea have been a success. “By land it’s easier. So they stop sending poison to our country.” Since last September 2, within the framework of the so-called Operation Southern Spear, Washington has launched attacks against at least 21 vessels and has killed at least 83 people, most of them in Caribbean waters and near the Venezuelan coast.
“You’ve probably noticed that people don’t want to carry [drogas] by sea, so we will also begin to arrest them by land,” Trump explained in a virtual meeting with the US military. The magnate has brandished the fight against illegal drug trafficking, especially fentanyl, as a priority for his Administration. At the same time, he has used that campaign as a pretext to increase pressure on the Government of Nicolás Maduro.
Naval deployment to the Caribbean began at the end of August and has been increasing since then. The incorporation of the , marked a turning point in the operations against alleged drug boats. Since last Monday, in addition, the State Department officially classifies the so-called Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization, a criminal network at the head of which it places Maduro himself.
In parallel to the military escalation, Trump has launched messages this week that hint at the possibility of a negotiation between the White House and the leadership of Chavismo. The president suggested that he would be willing to talk to the Bolivarian leader to “save lives,” but added that if things do not work out “the right way” he would have no problem achieving his goal “the hard way,” in reference to the pressures to force a regime change. In any case, there is still no date for a call nor is that scenario confirmed.
Faced with this uncertain window, Maduro has had an ambivalent behavior, at least in public. In his frequent appearances, the same rebels against the threats of the United States and calls on the civilian population to mobilize to defend the sovereignty of the Caribbean country that calls for peace and harmony.
