Tensions between Washington and Caracas have escalated after Trump announced the deployment of three US warships off the coast of Venezuela as part of efforts to prevent drug trafficking.
The move comes a day after US President Donald Trump doubled the bounty to $50 million on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Maduro on Tuesday threatened to mobilise 3.4 million militia members in case the US tried to invade or sought any military adventurism with his country.
The US is aware that Maduro maintains a strong influence on the proxy groups, militia, drug cartels and would avoid confrontations with the dangerous gangs which maintain their presence in the US as well. Meanwhile, the three Aegis-class missile destroyers are heading to the water off Venezuela, said the US official.
According to reports, Washington was also planning to send some 4000 Marines to the region to counter drug mafia and gang leaders. Washington does not recognise Maduro’s past two election victories, stating that the leader runs the dreaded Cartel de los Soles ("Cartel of the Suns") cocaine trafficking gang.
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The US Treasury Department gave the group a special terrorist designation last month, accusing it of assisting the Tren de Aragua and Sinaloa drug cartels, which were labelled foreign terrorist organisations earlier this year.
The White House said on Tuesday that President Trump would “use every possible element” to stop drug trafficking, which might also mean putting boots on the ground on the soil of a foreign country.
"President Trump has been very clear and consistent; he's prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Leavitt described the Venezuelan government as a "Narco-terror cartel."
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