2:01A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, takes off for a mission in support of Red Flag-Nellis 25-1, Feb. 6, 2025. Airman 1st Class Michael Sanders/Nellis Air Force Base
In under one week, President Donald Trump has menaced to initiate an assault within Venezuela, validated continuing clandestine actions inside the nation, and instructed bombers able to launch atomic ordnance to orbit off its shores in what seems to be an unheard-of demonstration of might purposed to coerce the Venezuelan head of state to resign.
On Thursday, the U.S. initiated what appears to be the sixth deadly vessel attack against an alleged narcotics vessel in the Caribbean Sea during this year. A U.S. official, who verified the account initially disclosed by Reuters, stated that there were survivors among the crew.
The White House has defended the exceptional military maneuvers as vital to halt the influx of unlawful substances reaching the U.S.
"President Trump is of the belief that Nicholas Maduro is an unauthorized president, commanding an illegitimate administration that has become entwined with narcotics," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed on Thursday.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, takes off for a mission in support of Red Flag-Nellis 25-1, Feb. 6, 2025.Airman 1st Class Michael Sanders/Nellis Air Force Base
However, specialists indicate that while Maduro is associated with the narcotics commerce, a substantial portion of the narcotics entering the U.S. transits via Mexico and maritime pathways in the Pacific, rather than the Caribbean Sea, which is predominantly recognized for transporting narcotics into Europe.
When inquired on Wednesday whether the CIA had been granted the authority to "eliminate" Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump informed reporters that it was a "preposterous" question.
"But I believe Venezuela is undergoing pressure," he stated. "However, I also believe numerous other nations are experiencing pressure as well."
"We are not intending to permit this nation, our nation, to be destroyed because other individuals desire to discard, as you say, their worst," Trump communicated to a journalist.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry has condemned Trump’s pronouncements and the escalating military presence in the region, asserting that the deadly strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea establish a scheme of hostility, intimidation, and torment against Venezuela.
Upon being questioned about the successive steps for his administration’s "battle" against narcotics cartels and whether they contemplated assaults on land, Trump mentioned they were examining it.
"Well, I do not want to disclose the specifics to you, but we are certainly inspecting land currently because we possess the sea in effective control," the president articulated.
Approximately 10,000 U.S. soldiers have been stationed in Latin America this year under Trump as constituents of an extensive intensification of military assets within the region, encompassing eight Navy vessels, F-35 fighter aircraft, and MQ-9 Reaper drones. Military operations within the region are under the leadership of Adm. Alvin Holsey as the commander of U.S. Southern Command, who astonishingly revealed on Thursday his intentions to retire after holding the role for less than a year.
On Wednesday, three B-52 bombers departed from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and journeyed for several hours proximate to the Venezuelan coastline, according to flight tracking data, seemingly in a significant demonstration of strength by Trump.
The B-52 is a heavy bomber with an extended range, utilized in traditional warfare in locales such as Iraq and Syria, and possesses the capacity to bear nuclear armaments. The deployment of the B-52s was initially documented by The War Zone.
On Thursday, a U.S. official verified that a special operations aviation detachment had carried out training exercises in international waters adjacent to Venezuela earlier this month.
The training endeavor was initially reported by The Washington Post, citing its own scrutiny of imagery shared online that illustrated MH-6 Little Bird attack helicopters and MH-60 Black Hawks airborne approximately 90 miles away from Venezuela’s coast in proximity to oil and gas platforms.
The categories of aircraft employed in the training regimen are those that could be deployed for a conceivable terrestrial mission. However, a U.S. official apprised ABC News that the unit was executing training voyages to sustain expertise and was not rehearsing for a specific operation.
Since Sept. 2, Trump has directed military incursions on a minimum of six vessels in the Caribbean Sea, which the administration asserts, devoid of presenting substantiation, were transporting narcotics to the U.S. The employment of lethal military might against narcotics vessels is unprecedented and poses legitimate inquiries. Prior administrations have depended on legal enforcement to intercept narcotics conveyances.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
