As U.S. forces close in on Venezuela, lawmakers warn of 'expanding' operation
The United States is massing an unusual buildup of warships, fighter jets and surveillance aircraft off the coast of Venezuela as the Trump administration expands its military campaign against what it says are transnational criminal organizations.
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its associated warships are heading to the region, the Pentagon said Friday, a significant expansion of the U.S. presence.
The United States already has warships, an expeditionary Marines unit, drones, fighter planes and surveillance aircraft in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. And on Sunday, the USS Gravely, a guided missile destroyer, docked in Port-of-Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, for joint exercises with the island nation’s military forces.
U.S. forces have blown up at least 10 boats in the region since the start of September, killing at least 43 people. The administration has accused the people of smuggling deadly drugs into the United States but has declined to provide evidence, drawing scrutiny from some lawmakers in Congress.
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