The president Donald Trump said this Friday that he is not planning attacks on Venezuela, that he fears that the US military deployment in the Caribbean aims to overthrow the government of Nicolas Maduro.
“No,” Trump responded when a reporter aboard Air Force One asked him about reports that he was considering such attacks.
The United States has deployed eight Navy ships to the Caribbean and sent F-35 stealth fighter jets to Puerto Rico, while an aircraft carrier strike group heads toward the region.
According to Washington, this military force aims to stop drug trafficking.
USA At the beginning of September, a campaign of attacks against vessels supposedly dedicated to drug trafficking in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific began, which has left at least 62 dead and destroyed 14 ships and a semi-submersible.
The Trump administration presents the Small boats as a threat to US national security due to the drugs they supposedly transport, but experts say that the attacks constitute extrajudicial executions, even if they are proven drug traffickers.
In addition to the military resources deployed in the region, Washington has carried out multiple shows of force with B-52 and B-1B bombers flying over near the coast of Venezuela. The most recent took place on Monday.
Regional tensions have intensified as a result of attacks and military deployment.
Venezuela claims that the United States is plotting to overthrow President Maduro, who accuses Washington of “make a war”.