WASHINGTON, D.C. , 25 October (H.S.): The Trump administration is contemplating military action against cocaine facilities and trafficking routes within Venezuela, a move that would represent a significant escalation of U.S. policy toward the South American nation.
While no formal plan has been finalized, the discussions, reported by CNN and confirmed by U.S. officials, signal a hardening stance against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
President Donald Trump is reportedly considering a range of options, from targeted strikes to covert operations, aimed at disrupting the flow of narcotics. In a show of military might, the Pentagon has ordered the U.S. Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier strike group, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the Caribbean.
The deployment includes over 4,500 Marines and sailors, alongside substantial naval and air assets, to bolster counter-narcotics operations in the region.
Furthermore, President Trump has authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct covert activities inside Venezuela.The administration’s aggressive posture comes despite the fact that Venezuela is not recognized as a major cocaine producer.
International bodies like the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) identify Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia as the primary sources of coca cultivation. A DEA report from March did not even mention Venezuela in its section on cocaine trafficking.
However, U.S. officials maintain that some drug trafficking does occur through Venezuela and point to the 2020 indictment of President Maduro on charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine.While a diplomatic path has not been entirely ruled out, President Trump has publicly expressed a willingness to use lethal force without a formal declaration of war from Congress. I’m not going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war, he stated. I think we’re just going to kill people who are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them, you know, they’re going to be like, dead.
Officials have indicated that the President is not in a rush to make a decision, as his attention is also on his upcoming trip to Asia and ongoing negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. The recent developments have raised questions about the administration’s ultimate goal, with some officials suggesting that the anti-drug campaign could be a precursor to regime change in Venezuela.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
