{"id":591972,"date":"2025-11-25T02:58:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T02:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/591972\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T02:58:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T02:58:18","slug":"deadly-airstrikes-and-a-military-buildup-how-the-us-pressure-campaign-against-venezuela-has-unfolded-in-the-caribbean-us-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/591972\/","title":{"rendered":"Deadly airstrikes and a military buildup: how the US pressure campaign against Venezuela has unfolded in the Caribbean | US news"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amid growing tensions between Washington and Caracas, the US has gathered its largest military presence in the Caribbean since the 1989 invasion of Panama<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump\u2019s administration has steadily increased pressure on Venezuela\u2019s leader, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>, accusing him of running the \u201cCartel of the Suns\u201d drug-trafficking organization, and placing a $50m bounty on his head.<\/p>\n

The US leader has been opaque about his intentions and Trump says he is keeping all options on the table \u2013 from a military intervention to a negotiated exit for Maduro.<\/p>\n

US officials in Washington DC have briefed that a \u201cnew phase\u201d in the operation was about to begin, and on Saturday several international airlines cancelled<\/a> flights to and from Venezuela after the US Federal Aviation Administration urged civilian aircraft to \u201cexercise caution\u201d due to the \u201cworsening security situation and heightened military activity\u201d in or around the country.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the US state department\u2019s designation of the Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organisation is set to take effect.<\/p>\n

In a statement on Monday, the Venezuelan military rejected the allegations against Maduro as a \u201cvile lie to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention in Venezuela\u201d.<\/p>\n

Experts say such a group does not exist<\/a> as a cartel in the traditional sense; instead, the term is used as a catch-all for the way Maduro has allowed criminal networks to operate in order to stay in power.<\/p>\n

Still, some believe that classifying Maduro\u2019s regime as a terrorist organisation could provide a degree of legal cover for a US attack.<\/p>\n

Deadly<\/strong> airstrikes<\/strong><\/p>\n

For weeks, the US has used the so-called \u201cwar on drugs\u201d to justify its escalating military presence in the region. Trump\u2019s campaign began in September, when the US military struck a small open boat allegedly carrying drugs, killing 11 people<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Video<\/a><\/p>\n

Since then, at least 21 more vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific have been hit, killing 83 people \u2013 attacks the United Nations and other humanitarian organisations have described as extrajudicial executions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The US has failed to provide any evidence that the targeted vessels were actually carrying drugs, and legal experts say that even if they were, they did not pose an immediate threat. The only two survivors of the attacks were returned to their home countries, Ecuador and Colombia, where they have not faced charges as the US has not provided evidence against them.<\/p>\n

Chart<\/a>Is Venezuela a major drug-trafficking <\/strong>route to the US?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A 2020 report by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) estimated that 74% of the cocaine reaching the US arrived via the Pacific, and only 8% came on fast boats from the Caribbean islands.<\/p>\n

However, Venezuela is considered a transit country for some cocaine destined mostly for Europe, and originating in neighbouring Colombia.<\/p>\n

Map<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump has also claimed that the targeted boats were \u201cstacked up \u2026 with fentanyl\u201d, but that drug is neither produced nor significantly consumed in South America and is instead mainly manufactured in Mexico using chemical precursors imported from Asian countries, including China.<\/a><\/p>\n

The arsenal at Maduro\u2019s doorstep<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before the recent military buildup, the US navy already had warships and Coast Guard vessels in the region, according<\/a> to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.<\/p>\n

The surge of forces began in August with the arrival of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, a formation that includes an amphibious assault ship and two amphibious transport dock ships.<\/p>\n

In October, the Pentagon announced it would also deploy the USS Gerald R Ford, the world\u2019s newest and largest aircraft carrier, which arrived in the Caribbean on 11 November with more than 4,000 sailors, tactical fighter jets and accompanying warships.<\/p>\n

Chart<\/a>US military bases and local allies<\/strong><\/p>\n

The US has military bases in Puerto Rico, Honduras and Cuba.<\/p>\n

In El Salvador, Aruba and Cura\u00e7ao, the US maintains Cooperative Security Locations (CSLs), surveillance hubs at local airports traditionally used for counter-terrorism and drug-trafficking interdiction training.<\/p>\n

The CSLs in Aruba and Cura\u00e7ao are the closest to the Venezuelan coast, though their use for any attack would, in theory, require authorisation from the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

Map<\/a><\/p>\n

In Puerto Rico, satellite images show that the US Roosevelt Road naval station \u2013 a former cold war base closed in 2004 \u2013 is undergoing upgrades, with the resurfacing and expansion of its taxiways. US marines have been carrying out exercises there since August.<\/p>\n

Satellite images<\/a>Military tents are set up at the former Roosevelt Roads naval station airport in Puerto Rico. Photograph: Ricardo Arduengo\/ReutersPersonnel deployment<\/strong><\/p>\n

As with the warships, US military personnel were already present in the region, with about 2,000 stationed at military bases.<\/p>\n

The two main surges came with the arrival of the Iwo Jima and the USS Gerald R Ford, bringing the total to an estimated 12,700 troops \u2013 a figure analysts consider insufficient for a ground invasion, which would require between 50,000 and 150,000 soldiers.<\/p>\n

Many analysts believe that if the US takes any further action, it would most likely begin with airstrikes on specific facilities belonging to the regime or criminal gangs.<\/p>\n

Chart<\/a>Location of US <\/strong>navy ships<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most US naval ships cannot be tracked because their transponders can be turned off during exercises or operations. But their locations at recent times could be determined from monitoring data by the ship-tracking and maritime analytics firm MarineTraffic, reported sightings, and US navy press releases.<\/p>\n

Map<\/a>Living near the coast<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the current arsenal and proximity would allow the US to conduct air and missile strikes anywhere in Venezuela, any ground approach would also risk affecting much of the country\u2019s population, which lives along the northern coast or immediately inland \u2013 including the capital, Caracas, home to about 3 million people and only nine miles from the sea.<\/p>\n

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