"Ten warships in total, including three destroyers, an amphibious assault ship, a missile cruiser, and a nuclear-powered submarine, along with around 10,000 troops. The U.S. Navy deployment, ordered in August by Donald Trump in the area under the U.S. Southern Command's influence, is almost unprecedented in the Caribbean and faces an equally unusual adversary: Venezuelan drug cartels."
"So far, the reported casualties are modest compared to what such a show of force mobilizing 14% of the U.S. Navy deployed worldwide might suggest: four boats allegedly sent by drug cartels, which Washington accuses of drug trafficking, were destroyed in separate extrajudicial operations, with authorities offering no evidence beyond videos showing the moments when the vessels were blown up. At least 21 people have been killed in these operations, four of whom Bogota claims as Colombian citizens."
"This isn't about ending drug trafficking, but rather about bringing about a change of regime a deeply corrupt and criminal regime and making sure the move costs Washington as little as possible, Christopher Sabatini, senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, explained in a telephone conversation on Friday. Sabatini described the White House strategy as gunboat diplomacy."
Ten U.S. warships, including destroyers, an amphibious assault ship, a missile cruiser, and a nuclear submarine, plus roughly 10,000 troops, are operating in the Caribbean under U.S. Southern Command. The deployment, ordered in August by Donald Trump, follows the president's declaration of war against drug cartels to Congress. Several suspected cartel boats were destroyed in separate extrajudicial operations, with videos as the only public evidence, and at least 21 people died, including four Colombians. Critics label the campaign gunboat diplomacy aimed at intimidating President Maduro's circle and pressuring regime change while avoiding costly peaceful processes.
Read at english.elpais.com
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