The main military commander of the United States, Chief of Staff, General Dan Caine, has traveled to a military base in Puerto Rico to meet with soldiers and senior officers of the Southern Command. This command, responsible for US operations in Latin America, is in charge of the enormous naval and troop deployment that Donald Trump has ordered in the Caribbean with the argument of combating drug trafficking, although the Venezuelan Government, and various experts, believe that the true objective is to try to force the fall of President Nicolás Maduro.
The trip occurs when tensions in the region are at an all-time high after Washington this Monday included the Suns cartel, of which it accuses Maduro of being the leader, on its list of foreign terrorist organizations. The step has triggered fears that US forces could carry out some type of action against targets in Venezuelan territory.
In a statement, the Pentagon has indicated that Caine and one of his main advisors, David Isom, visit Puerto Rico this Monday, the territory where most of the almost 15,000 US soldiers mobilized in the Caribbean are believed to be, to thank the soldiers for their “dedicated and unwavering service” in the Southern Command area of responsibility.
The large flotilla that the United States has accumulated in the Caribbean since August, and that two weeks ago has incorporated the largest aircraft carrier in the world, the Gerald Fordhas sunk at least 21 alleged drug boats, in extrajudicial attacks that have killed at least 83 people and that various experts, legislators and human rights defenders consider illegal.
At the same time, Washington has increasingly emphasized linking Maduro with drug trafficking that uses Venezuelan territory for international drug distribution. In his designation of the Suns cartel – more than a typical organization, a set of groups and senior officials linked to drug trafficking in Venezuela – he declares that he does not consider the Chavista leader as the legitimate president of the Caribbean country. Since August, he has doubled the reward he offers for the capture of the leader, whom he considers the leader of “narcoterrorism,” to $50 million.
Trump has left open the possibility of entering into talks with the Chavista regime, but has also threatened to launch a “second phase” of the military campaign that would include some type of action on Venezuelan soil.
Venezuela categorically denies the accusations. In July, the Treasury Department already sanctioned the Cartel of the Suns and included it on its list of terrorist organizations, which implies the freezing of assets that the group or its members may have in the United States.
This weekend, the US aviation authority issued a recommendation to airlines to avoid flights in Venezuelan airspace due to an increase in military activity in the area. Due to this, at least seven international lines have suspended their routes to and from the Caribbean country.
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