A MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle prepares to land after a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson)
President Donald Trump announced on September 2 that the United States military conducted for the first time a “kinetic” strike on a small boat he accused of smuggling drugs out of Venezuela for the Tren de Aragua (TDA) gang.
Trump first revealed that the strike had occurred during an Oval Office news conference. He later posted a statement on the strike on his Truth Social account.
“Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM (Southern Command) area of responsibility,” Trump said in the statement.
SOUTHCOM area of responsibility covers Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. This region includes the landmass of Latin America south of Mexico, the adjacent waters, and the Caribbean Sea, covering roughly over 40 million square kilometers.
In his statement, Trump noted that TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, claiming that it has been operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, the President of Venezuela. He said that the gang was responsible for “mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere.”
“The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike,” Trump said.
“Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE! Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!!!!!!” he added.
The U.S. dispatched a large naval force capable of launching long-range strikes and conducting amphibious operations to SOUTHCOM area of responsibility on a supposed counter-cartel mission earlier this month after doubling the reward for the arrest of Maduro to $50 million on drug trafficking charges.
The force includes seven warships, along with a nuclear attack submarine. More than 4,500 US service members, including some 2,200 Marines, are reported to be aboard the ships.
Asked about the strike before departing for Mexico City, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio deferred questions to the Pentagon. However, he said that the drugs on the vessel were likely headed to Trinidad or elsewhere in the Caribbean.
Answering another question on whether Trump would order counter-drug cartel operations on Venezuelan soil, Rubio didn’t deny such an scenario upright.
“We’re going to take on drug cartels wherever they are and wherever they’re operating against the interests of the United States,” he said.
Maduro, a longtime rival of the Trump, pledged on September 1 to “declare a republic in arms” if Venezuela was attacked by the U.S.
Following the U.S. strike, Venezuelan state television aired footage of Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores walking the streets of his childhood neighbourhood..
“In the face of imperialist threats, God (is) with us,” Maduro told supporters.
The Venezuela President went on to warn that the U.S. is “coming for Venezuela’s riches,” including to seize its oil and gas.
“From the neighbourhoods of Caracas … I tell you, there will be peace in Venezuela, with sovereignty,” he said.
Trump’s repeated accusations against Maduro indicate that he wants to use the issue of drug trafficking as a pretext for a wider politically-motivated agenda. A recent Axios report revealed that close advisors to the U.S. The president was not entirely sure whether the naval deployment near Venezuela was a counter-drug cartel operation with undertones of regime change, or a Caracas coup operation masquerading as drug enforcement.
Venezuela has been taking the escalation very seriously, Its military has already announced a “significant” drone deployment as well as naval patrols along the country’s Caribbean coast. A large pro-government militia has also been mobilizing.
The U.S. stands to gain a lot from regime change in Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserve and one of the largest gas reserves.
Still, a direct military action against Venezuela is not guaranteed to produce a regime change. In fact, the use of deadly force by the U.S. against Venezuelans could eventually push many who currently oppose Maduro to his side.
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americans failed to bully china, russia, iran, now they turn to venezuela. amerikunt losers
is it again “war on drugs?” what are drugs? is that a state? anyway t h e b i g g e s t drug trafficker and dealer is usa and theirs diplomats, subservants and stoiges. just how many tons upon tons of cocaine they have smuggled in theirs homeland in those diplomatic loads.
this is because they have found a new victim, because assad is gone. putler should have held him better so he couldn’t fall, because now venezuela and iran wouldn’t be in danger.
another great victory for the gringo navy, on a par with midway or leyte gulf. this will probably turn out to be a few campesinos out for a day’s fishing.
what, the magnificent, the fabulous, the great and might orange blob didn’t sink them with a nuclear missile? he missed his chance to use his sub? damn and double damn. trump is such a transparent piece of shit, no one is fooled, except maybe in his mind…where foolishness is the norm. this will be another failure, as all his adventures are. loud mouth, big talk and no brains whatsoever is becoming a u.s. norm. drain here we come.
next they’ll find maduro’s passport floating nearby.
a good one 😂
that’s called murder. what evidence, what trial and what conviction?
let’s just kill people to make a point.
yes, but they are murderers, which have vote for a murderer as fuhrer. the strike are declared a “ai” thing in one comment on sonar21. der fuhrer maybe try to satisfy the working slave cast, which have voted for him. you know, draw first, shot em in the back.
typical immoral americunts behavior
what is particularly interesting is the fact that putler did not count on maduro and the ayatollah on the us destruction list now that assad is gone.
from now on, everything from shipping boats, civil aircrafts, you name it is ‘legitimate target’ for these gangsters. colombia by far the biggest exporter is left alone, not because it doesn’t have oil and coal, it does, but it is unstable country under theirs toxic control.