WASHINGTON (Reuters)-The United States is not talking about regime change in Venezuela, President Donald Trump said on Friday, the same day the US sent 10 more stealing fighters as part of a growing military reinforcement in the Caribbean.
“We are not talking about it, but we are talking about the fact that you had an election that was a very strange election, to say the least,” said Trump.
Trump’s comments were made in response to journalists when asked about a statement this week by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to which the United States would be “seeking a change of regime through military threat.”
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Reuters reported early Friday, from the sources report, that the Trump government had ordered 10 F-35 fighters to a Porto Rico aerodrome for operations against drug cartels, according to sources.
The new mobilization adds to a very intense US military presence in the southern Caribbean, as President Donald Trump fulfills a campaign promise to repress the groups he blames for drug trafficking for the United States.
The revelation about the F-35s occurred a few hours after the Pentagon accused Venezuela from a “highly provocative” flight on Thursday of fighters over a US Navy Warship.
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Trump warned Venezuela that US military personnel were allowed to downplay the jets if the commanders considered it necessary, saying, “If they put us in a danger position, they will be slaughtered.”
On Tuesday, he demonstrated his new drug-fighting approach with a US military attack that killed 11 people and sank a Venezuela boat that, according to Trump, was carrying illegal drugs.
At all times, the Trump government seeks to link the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to drug trafficking, allegations that Caracas denies.
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More specifically, Trump accused Maduro of commanding the gang Tren de Aragua, which his government designated as a terrorist organization in February.
In a speech on Friday, Trump compared the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans for overdose to war dead by trying to justify intense military activity in the Caribbean.
“Think if you are in a war and lose 300,000 … We will not allow this to happen,” he said.
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The Ministry of Communications of Venezuela did not respond to a request for commentary on the F-35S or the allegations that Venezuelan fighters flyted a US warship.
The sources said, on condition of anonymity, that the 10 fighters are being sent to perform operations against organizations designated as narcoterrorists who operate in the southern Caribbean. Airplanes should arrive in the region by the end of next week, they said.
The F-35 are highly advanced fighters and would be highly effective in combating the Venezuela Air Force, which includes F-16 aircraft.
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A US authority, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two F-16 Venezuelans flew over the USS Jason Dunham on Thursday.
Dunham is one of at least seven US war ships sent to the Caribbean, carrying more than 4,500 naval sailors and Marines.
Naval Marines and Sailors of the 22nd US Marine Expeditionary Unit are also conducting amphibious training and flight operations in the south of Puerto Rico.
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The increase in force pressured Maduro, to whom US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, called “an effectively a boss of a drug trafficking state.”
In a speech on Thursday, Hegseth defended Tuesday’s deadly attack in comments on reporters and promised that such activities would continue, citing the threat that illegal narcotics represent for public health in the United States.
“The poisoning of the American people is over,” said Hegseth.
US authorities did not clearly explain what was the legal justification used for Tuesday air strike to the boat or which drugs were on board.
Trump said on Tuesday without providing evidence that US military had identified the crew of the vessel as members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
