President Donald Trump
ordered the strike group to travel to the area last month, and their arrival
coincides with tensions with Venezuela and ongoing operations against suspected
drug boats.
At least 76 persons have
been killed in at least 19 US strikes against vessels in the Caribbean and
eastern Pacific to date.
The US is allegedly
“fabricating” a crisis in order to overthrow the country’s left-wing
socialist government, according to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and
other officials.
The US Navy said in a
statement that on November 11, the strike group entered US Southern Command’s
jurisdiction, which includes Latin America and the Caribbean.
Along with thousands of
soldiers, a nuclear-powered submarine, and military aircraft stationed in Puerto Rico, the
carrier group is joining a sizable military presence already stationed in the
area.
When taken as a whole, they
represent the greatest US presence in and around Latin America in decades.
The US has persisted in
attacking purported drug boats in the area. According to the Trump
administration, the attacks are required to stop the flow of drugs into the
United States.
The US declared earlier
this week that it had carried out two more strikes in the Pacific that resulted
in six fatalities.
Tensions with the
governments of Colombia and Venezuela have increased as a result of the boat
strikes, and some observers are worried about human rights and due process
breaches.
Trump minimized claims
earlier in November that he intended to overthrow the Venezuelan government or
declare war.
Trump claimed in an
interview with CBS, the BBC’s US news partner, that “every single boat
that you see that’s shot down kills 25,000 on drugs and destroys families all
over our country.”
Pushed on whether the US
was planning any strikes on land, Trump refused to rule it out, saying:
“I
wouldn’t be inclined to say that I would do that… I’m not gonna tell you what
I’m gonna do with Venezuela, if I was gonna do it or if I wasn’t going to do
it.”
How will this deployment affect US relations with Venezuela and
Cuba?
The deployment accompanies heightened U.S. military and covert
conduct aimed at obliging Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the U.S.
accuses of medicine trafficking and despotism.
It has increased indigenous pressures, with Maduro denouncing the
U.S. presence as hostile and a trouble to sovereignty. The U.S. has authorized
CIA covert operations and increased warrants, with military deployments
intended to fight narco- terrorism and conceivably weaken Maduro’s governance.
This has further strained political relations and fueled Venezuelan prayers for
support from abettors like Russia and China.
The U.S. deployment also serves as a strategic counter to Cuban
service and intelligence support for Venezuela. Cuba explosively rejects the
U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, seeing it as a direct trouble. Moscow’s
military ties with Cuba, including possible Russian deployments or bullet
placements, complicate the security terrain.
