Miami Herald: U.S. expands Navy presence in Caribbean. Is military action against Maduro more likely?
When President Donald Trump weighed the options earlier last year to address the political and humanitarian consequences of Nicolás Maduro’s tight grip on power in Venezuela, he realized his harsh rhetoric against the South American leader was not backed up by a show of force in the region.
That was corrected Wednesday, as Trump, surrounded by the country’s top officials, announced an expanded military presence near the Venezuelan shores that had been unseen for decades.
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, National Security Council Director Robert O’Brien and Attorney General William Barr all said during the press conference that the additional military is meant to crack down on “counternarcotics operations,” but is also aimed at denying funds to Maduro and his closest allies, who have been recently indicted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges.
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WNU Editor: The White House is focused on the Covid-19 pandemic. Venezuela is important, but it is not a priority for the administration. Newsweek is saying that Pentagon officials have told them that the U.S. Navy expansion in the Caribbean is a diversion from the coronavirus crisis .... Trump Administration Used Venezuela Anti-Drug Operation to Distract from Coronavirus Crisis at Home, Officials Say (Newsweek). I have doubts about this Newsweek report. Short of a nuclear war, nothing is going to divert the American public's attention right now from the Covid-19 pandemic.
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