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The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, assured this Tuesday that the US government will use the “total power” of the country to “eradicate” drug cartels, after the confirmation of an attack carried out by national forces against a vessel carrying drugs and that had departed from Venezuela, according to statements made in a conference before traveling to Mexico.
In Rubio's words, President Donald Trump "has been very clear that he is going to use all of America's power, the total power of the United States, to confront and eradicate these drug cartels, no matter where they operate." The official appeared before the media at Miami airport, before heading to an official two-day visit to Mexico, where he is scheduled to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum.
A few hours earlier, from the White House, Trump had announced that the US military "shot and liquidated" and "eliminated" a vessel loaded with narcotics that set sail from a Venezuelan port. In total, according to the president, the operation concluded with the death of eleven members of the Tren de Aragua, a group considered by the US government as a terrorist organization. "They operate under the control of Nicolás Maduro, responsible for mass murders, drug trafficking, sex trafficking and violence in the United States," Trump said through his Truth Social account, accompanying the message with a video released by the Southern Command.
The official confirmation was reiterated by Rubio on social media, where he informed that the US military had carried out a "lethal attack" in the southern Caribbean against a drug ship operated by an organization designated as a narco-terrorist. The Pentagon itself detailed that the attack took place in waters near Venezuela and was part of a larger military deployment in the region.
That deployment includes more than 4,000 marines, eight military ships with missiles, three destroyers, and a nuclear-powered submarine in areas of the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela. The stated objective of the mission is to combat the flow of narcotics destined primarily for the United States. US authorities claim that these measures respond to the growth of operations by international cartels, including the Cartel de los Soles based in Venezuela, which have expanded their influence beyond the region.
The U.S. military operation has generated an immediate response from the Maduro dictatorship, which in official statements denounced that the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean constitutes an attempt to force a change of government in Venezuela. Maduro stated that Venezuela faces “the greatest threat seen in America in a hundred years”, and that the country would declare itself “up in arms” if it were the subject of direct aggression.
In parallel with military actions in the Caribbean, Washington and Mexico are negotiating a security agreement focused on strengthening the fight against Mexican cartels and transnational gangs. Rubio's trip to that country aims to advance joint coordination to confront both Mexican organizations and groups originating in Venezuela. After his stay in Mexico, Rubio will visit Ecuador, nation that, according to official U.S. sources, has shown willingness to cooperate in the fight against drug trafficking and illegal migration. The incident in the Caribbean occurred after several days of tensions and is part of a series of military hardening measures implemented by the United States to curb the advance of criminal organizations on the continent. The actions have rekindled diplomatic confrontation with Venezuela.SOURCE: INFOBAE
