Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro addressed the deployment of U.S. warships near its coast, saying "the empire has gone mad."
Maduro went on to say that the Trump administration is "fabricating extravagant lies" and "has regurgitated its threats to Venezuela's peace and stability." He also claimed millions of militia members will be mobilized to address the development.
"We'll guarantee sovereignty and peace in any circumstance that manifests itself over the next days, months and years. We will defeat American imperialism as it comes against our noble, peaceful and working people," he added.
Reuters reported on Monday that three Aegis guided-missile destroyers will arrive off the coast" of the South American country this week, officially to address threats from Latin American drug cartels. It added that President Donald Trump has wanted to use the military to go after Latin American cartels, many of which have been designated as global terrorist organizations.
In February, the Trump administration designated Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, Venezuela's Tren de Aragua, and other groups as foreign terrorist organizations. More recently, the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles was added to the list, with the administration alleging it is led by authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro and senior members of his government.
The United States also recently doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest to $50 million, citing drug trafficking charges. President Trump has signed a classified order authorizing the use of military force against these cartels, potentially opening the door to direct operations at sea and, in some cases, on foreign soil.
The U.S. military said last week it was deploying thousands of troops and four aircraft with their crews to the Southern Caribbean to "support enhanced counter-narcotics operations" against cartels in the region.
CNN reported last Friday that more than 4,000 Marines and sailors are being deployed. They are the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to US Southern Command.
The army is also deploying a nuclear-powered attack submarine, more P8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser.
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