Venezuela to Reinforce Troops Against Drug Trafficking Amid US Military Build-Up in Caribbean

Venezuela announced on Sunday plans to significantly expand troop deployments in coastal states to combat drug trafficking, following the US decision to deploy an additional 10 fighter jets to Puerto Rico for anti-cartel operations.

President Nicolas Maduro has ordered an increased military presence in the Guajira region of Zulia state and the Paraguana peninsula in Falcon, which Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino described as “a drug trafficking route.” The expansion will also cover the island of Nueva Esparta and the states of Sucre and Delta Amacuro. Some 25,000 troops are set to be deployed, up from the 10,000 already stationed in Zulia and Tachira bordering Colombia.

“No one is going to come and do the work for us. No one is going to step on this land and do what we’re supposed to do,” Padrino said in a video shared on social media.

Tensions between Venezuela and the United States have risen amid President Donald Trump’s intensified approach to combating illegal narcotics. The US jet deployment adds to an ongoing military buildup in the Caribbean, following a US strike last week that killed 11 people and sank a Venezuelan vessel said by Trump to be carrying drugs.

Maduro has accused the US of pursuing regime change. Trump, however, denied that the United States is seeking to remove Venezuela’s government, comparing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans from overdoses to wartime casualties as he justified the expanded military activity.

According to CNN, the US administration is considering further strikes, including targeting suspected drug cartel operations inside Venezuela—a move that would represent a significant escalation in tensions.

Faridah Abdulkadiri

Source: Arise