Venezuela Sends Out Warships, Drones In Response To U.S. Navy Deployment

Illustrative image. (Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela)

Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino on August 26 announced a “significant” drone deployment as well as naval patrols along the country’s Caribbean coast, including “larger vessels further north in our territorial waters.”

The move came as the administration of United States President Donald Trump continues to escalate against Venezuela, using the problem of drug trafficking as a pretext.

The U.S. designated Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua and a number of Mexican drug cartels as global terrorist organizations last February, and later doubled the reward for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from to $50 million.

Maduro was accused by the Trump administration of being “the world’s biggest drug trafficker” and of working with cartels to smuggle fentanyl-laced cocaine.

Earlier this month, the U.S. dispatched a 4000-strong naval group, including an amphibious group, multiple guided missile destroyers, a nuclear attack submarine and several naval patrol aircraft, to Latin America and the Caribbean on a counter-cartel mission.

On August 26, a U.S. source told AFP that the Trump administration was dispatching two more warships to the Caribbean to crack down on drug cartels.

Maduro has accused Trump of attempting to effect regime change and launched a drive to enlist up thousands of members in the Bolivarian Militia of Venezuela.

Responding to Maduro’s call to respond to “outlandish threats” by the U.S., thousands of people from all walks of life lined up in Caracas over the weekend to join the militia.

While Venezuela is preparing for a possible confrontation with the U.S., it has also stepped up efforts to counter drug trafficking in a what appears to be an attempt to prevent the Trump administration from using

On August 25, Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced the deployment of 15,000 troops to bolster security in Zulia and Tachira states, which border Colombia.

“Here, we do fight drug trafficking, here, we do fight drug cartels on all fronts,” he said, announcing the seizure of 53 tons of drugs so far this year.

Padrino announced on the very next day that an ongoing operation in Venezuela’s northeastern corner had resulted in the dismantling of shipyards where criminals intended “to manufacture semisubmersibles and boats to transport drugs by sea” to markets in Europe and North America.

While a U.S. attack on Venezuela seems highly unlikely, the oil-rich country has every right to be extremely cautious about the naval buildup near its shores.

The U.S. did not recognize Maduro’s past two election victories. In addition, Trump floated the idea of a military intervention in Venezuela during his first term.

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