The Defense Department confirmed Thursday evening that two Venezuelan aircraft flew in proximity to a U.S. Navy vessel operating in international waters. This incident, labeled a “highly provocative move” by the department, occurs as the Trump administration intensifies its efforts.
“Today, two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations,” the Defense Department stated. “The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the U.S. military.”
On Friday, Reuters reported that the U.S. dispatched 10 F-35 fighter jets to a Puerto Rico airfield as part of its efforts to combat drug cartels.
Venezuela’s actions followed an unprecedented U.S. Marine strike on Tuesday targeting a cartel-operated vessel. Authorities later confirmed 11 members of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua – a U.S.-designated terrorist organization – were killed in the strike.
Before Tuesday’s strike, U.S. initiatives to counter cartels and international gang organizations primarily consisted of seizure and apprehension operations. However, the strike seemed to signal a shift by the Trump administration toward a tougher new approach.
On Thursday, during a visit to Ecuador, the Secretary of State announced that two gangs were being reclassified as foreign terrorist organizations. Rubio also condemned the Venezuelan leadership’s involvement in the drug trade. He further denounced Nicolás Maduro as an “indicted drug trafficker” and a “fugitive of American justice.”
“Maduro is indicted by a grand jury in the Southern District of New York. That means the Southern District of New York presented the evidence to a grand jury, and a grand jury indicted him. And then a superseding indictment came out that was unsealed about a year and a half ago that specifically detailed Maduro’s actions,” Rubio explained on Thursday. “So, number one, let there be no doubt he, Nicolás Maduro, is an indicted drug trafficker in the United States, and he’s a fugitive of American justice.”
Rubio also appeared to indicate that the U.S. and its allies were collaborating on this more aggressive approach to cartels and international gang organizations. He mentioned that “cooperative governments” would assist the U.S. in identifying drug traffickers and “blow them up, if that’s what it takes.”
Caitlin McFall of Digital contributed to this report.