MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US deploys destroyers off Venezuela in operation against narco-terror groups

The strategy aligns with President Donald Trump’s policy of ramping up military pressure on drug cartels, including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, and the Cartel of the Suns

The United States will deploy three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers off the coast of Venezuela within the next 36 hours as part of an operation targeting criminal organizations classified as narco-terrorist groups. According to Reuters, the vessels are the USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson, all equipped with the Aegis defense system for air, submarine, and surface warfare.

A US official said the mission is part of a broader deployment in the Caribbean involving around 4,000 Marines, P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft, additional warships, and at least one attack submarine. “The process will be continuous over several months,” the official noted, emphasizing that operations will take place in international waters and airspace, though the assets deployed could also serve “as a platform for targeted strikes if that decision is made.”

The strategy aligns with President Donald Trump’s policy of ramping up military pressure on drug cartels, including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, and the Cartel of the Suns, which US authorities link to President Nicolás Maduro’s regime.

From Caracas, Maduro denounced the operation as the act of “a decaying empire” and announced the mobilization of 4.5 million civilian militia members across the country to “defend our seas, skies, and land.”

The move comes just days after the US doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture to US$50 million, in connection with ongoing drug trafficking investigations. The scale of the US naval deployment marks a significant escalation of pressure on Caracas in the region.