CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused the united States of deploying eight warships aimed at his country, warning of a potential “war on a large scale throughout the continent” as tensions escalate. Maduro stated, “Mr. President Donald Trump, you need to take care of yourself, as Marco rubio wants to stain his hands with blood.”
The increased military presence comes amid a meaningful buildup of U.S. naval forces in the southern Caribbean adn nearby waters,which U.S. officials say is intended to counter threats from Latin American drug cartels. President Trump has prioritized the repression of drug cartels as a key goal of his administration, linking it to efforts to limit migration and secure the southern U.S. border.
However, Maduro, along with Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, allege the U.S. is using the situation as a pretext for intervention.The U.S. recently doubled its reward for data leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million, citing allegations of drug trafficking and connections with criminal groups. While U.S. Coast Guard and Navy ships routinely operate in the caribbean, the current deployment is described as substantially larger than usual.
Experts note that the majority of maritime drug trafficking to the U.S. occurs via the Pacific Ocean, not the Atlantic, and a significant amount arrives via clandestine flights, according to the 2023 global Cocaine Report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.It remains unclear how the U.S. military presence would effectively disrupt drug trafficking routes.
