"Venezuela's authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro, has urged Donald Trump not to lead the US into an Afghanistan-style forever war, as the American military buildup in the region intensified and Trump's defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, vowed to purge the Americas of narco-terrorists. Speaking to CNN outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Venezuela's capital, Caracas, Maduro called on Trump to make peace, not war, after the world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, arrived in the region."
"Hours after the Venezuelan leader spoke, Hegseth sought to pile further pressure on Venezuela's leader, announcing what he called Operation Southern Spear. The Western Hemisphere is America's neighborhood and we will protect it, Hegseth tweeted. He said the Southern Command mission would defend our homeland and secure it from the drugs that are killing our people. It is unclear why Hegseth made the announcement now, 10 months after the US Naval Forces Southern Command declared the impending launch of the operation."
Nicolas Maduro called on Donald Trump to choose peace rather than an Afghanistan-style forever war as the USS Gerald R Ford arrived near Venezuela. Pete Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear and vowed to purge the Americas of narco-terrorists, describing the Western Hemisphere as America's neighborhood that must be protected. The operation reportedly aims to use robotic and autonomous systems to detect and monitor illicit trafficking in the Caribbean. The US frames the deployment as part of a war on drugs targeting cocaine and fentanyl flows, while Venezuela is not a primary cocaine producer.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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