Venezuela has announced a "massive deployment" of land, naval, air, river, and missile forces, also involving the civilian militia, to confront the US naval presence off its coasts. Washington presents its operations as a campaign to counter drug trafficking: since early September, American forces have destroyed over 20 vessels in international waters. In Caracas, however, fear is growing that the ultimate goal of the United States is the removal of President Nicolas Maduro.
According to the Venezuelan government, the deployment involves several regions of the country, with images broadcast by state television Vtv showing military leaders engaged in public speeches. Meanwhile, the United States has sent the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group to Latin America, deployed F-35 stealth aircraft to Puerto Rico, and maintains six Navy ships in the Caribbean Sea as part of its anti-drug operations, without providing concrete evidence of the involvement of the targeted vessels in illicit trafficking.
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