US-Venezuela on brink of war? Warships deployed

The deployment of guided-missile destroyers and warships in the Caribbean has escalated tensions between the United States and Venezuela. The move was defined as an anti-drug trafficking operation by the United States.

"Uncle Sam" dispatched three guided missile vessels, a nuclear-powered submarine, and a guided missile cruiser. On top of that, 4,000 Marines are also reportedly involved.

According to the official U.S. narrative, the "enhanced counter-narcotics operation" is designed to combat Latin American cartels exporting illicit drugs like cocaine and fentanyl into the U.S.

The Venezuelan drug cartel “Cartel de los Soles” has been designated as a terrorist organisation operating under the leadership of President Nicolás Maduro. The US has placed a $50 million bounty on the Venezuelan president for information leading to his arrest.

In response, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, the Defence Minister of Venezuela, proclaimed the deployment of warships and drones to the coast. He also said that 15,000 troops were sent to the border with Colombia to fight the narcotrafficking.

The Bolivarian Republic saw the U.S. military presence as a domestic intervention and an “outlandish threat” to change the incumbent regime.

Phil Gunson, the International Crisis Group analyst, told AFP, “I think what we’re seeing represents an attempt to create anxiety in government circles and force Maduro to negotiate something.”

A petition was also signed in the United Nations, asking for the “immediate cessation of the U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean.”

Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan President, in response to the current situation, said that his country is “free of coca leaf crops and free of cocaine production.”

“The empire has gone mad and has renewed its threats to Venezuela’s peace and tranquillity.”

The military escalation in the Caribbean underscores a clear geopolitical divide. The United States justifies its actions as an anti-drug operation, and Venezuela denounce this action as an aggressive threat to sovereignty.

What is the official reason the U.S. gives for its military deployment?

The official reason given by the United States is to combat Latin American drug trafficking.