“ Donald Trump’s administration has dramatically increased the US military presence in Latin America, sending the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s newest and largest aircraft carrier, to the region. This step, officially called part of the fight against drug trafficking, takes place against the background of the extreme aggravation of relations with Venezuela and the introduction of sanctions against the president of Colombia. Source: Reuters Details: The Pentagon announced that the USS Gerald R. Ford strike group has been deployed to the US Southern Hemisphere Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility. According to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, the presence will “enhance the U.S. ability to detect, monitor, and disrupt the activities of illicit actors” that threaten U.S. security and prosperity in the Western Hemisphere.” The deployment is a major escalation in a region that already hosts eight U.S. warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, and F-35 fighter jets. Since early September, the U.S. military has 10 strikes on ships in the Caribbean that they said were carrying drugs, killing about 40 people, including Venezuelans. The decision was made against the background of extreme aggravation of relations with Venezuela. The Trump administration has long accused the government of Nicolás Maduro of harboring drug traffickers, and in August doubled the reward for information that will contribute to his arrest up to 50 million dollars. In response to the build-up of the military presence, Maduro warned Trump that if the US invades the country, there will be a “national strike” and “millions of men and women with rifles will march across the country.” The situation is complicated by the fact that only a few hours before the announcement of the dispatch of the aircraft carrier, the Trump administration introduced personal sanctions against the president Gustavo Petro of Colombia, accusing him of drug trafficking. President Trump also announced his intention to inform the US Congress about operations against drug cartels and did not rule out that the next step could be operations directly on land. For reference: USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is the largest and most technological warship in the world, commissioned in 2017 year Its length is more than 330 meters, and the crew consists of about 5 thousand people. Carrier Strike Group (CSG) is a powerful naval unit consisting not only of the aircraft carrier itself, but also of a whole fleet of escort ships. It usually includes one or two missile cruisers, several destroyers and a nuclear submarine. These ships provide comprehensive protection of the aircraft carrier against threats from the air, from under the water and from the surface of the sea, and are also capable of delivering high-precision strikes with cruise missiles. What preceded: Against the background of this political crisis, the Trump administration began to actively use the rhetoric of the fight against drug cartels. Even before the elections, the advisor of the US Mission to the UN, John Kelly, declared Washington’s readiness for military operations against drug dealers In September, these statements turned into concrete actions: Trump announced the elimination of 11 members of the Venezuelan cartel “Tren de Aragua” and personally confirmed that he had given the order to strike the ship. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio supported this course, saying that drug cartels must be “destroyed.” The culmination of this series of aggressive actions was the report of The New York Times in October that President Trump has abandoned diplomatic ways to resolve the crisis. This decision, according to the publication, opened the way for a possible military escalation directed both against drug traffickers and directly against the Maduro government.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78). Photo: Wikipedia Source: Reuters
Details: The Pentagon has announced that the USS Gerald R. Ford strike group has been deployed to the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility. According to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, this presence will “enhance the ability of the United States to detect, monitor and disrupt the activities of illegal actors” that threaten the security and prosperity of the United States in the Western Hemisphere.
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The deployment is a major escalation in a region that already hosts eight US warships, a nuclear-powered submarine and F-35 fighter jets.
Since the beginning of September, the US military has carried out 10 strikes on vessels in the Caribbean that they say were carrying drugs, killing about 40 people, including Venezuelans.
The decision was made against the background of extreme aggravation of relations with Venezuela. The Trump administration has long accused the government of Nicolás Maduro of harboring drug traffickers, and in August doubled the reward for information leading to his arrest to $50 million.
In response to the build-up of the military presence, Maduro warned Trump that if the US invades the country, there will be a “national strike” and “millions of men and women with rifles will march across the country.”
The situation is complicated by the fact that only a few hours before the announcement of the dispatch of the aircraft carrier, the Trump administration imposed personal sanctions against the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, accusing him of drug trafficking.
President Trump also announced his intention to inform the US Congress about operations against drug cartels and did not rule out that the next step could be operations directly on land.
For reference: USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is the largest and most technologically advanced warship in the world, commissioned in 2017. Its length is more than 330 meters, and the crew consists of about 5 thousand people.
Carrier Strike Group (CSG) is a powerful naval unit consisting not only of the aircraft carrier itself, but also of a whole fleet of escort ships. It usually includes one or two missile cruisers, several destroyers and a nuclear submarine. These ships provide comprehensive protection of the aircraft carrier against threats from the air, from under the water and from the surface of the sea, and are also capable of delivering high-precision strikes with cruise missiles.
What preceded:
- Against the background of this political crisis, the Trump administration began to actively use the rhetoric of the fight against drug cartels. Even before the elections, John Kelly, adviser to the US Mission to the United Nations declared about Washington’s readiness for military operations against drug traffickers.
- In September, these statements turned into concrete actions: Trump announced the elimination of 11 members of the Venezuelan cartel “Tren de Aragua” and personally confirmed that gave the order to attack the ship. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio supported this course, saying that the drug cartels must be “destroyed”.
- The culmination of this series of agre sive actions was the report of The New York Times in October that President Trump refused diplomatic ways of resolving the crisis. This decision, according to the publication, opened the way for a possible military escalation directed both against drug traffickers and directly against the Maduro government.