US Destroyers Head Toward Venezuela

The US is deploying three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela as part of President Trump's effort to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels, according to an American official briefed on the planning. The USS Gravely, the USS Jason Dunham, and the USS Sampson are expected to arrive soon, said the official, who spoke Tuesday, the AP reports. A Defense Department official confirmed that the military assets have been assigned to the region in support of counter narcotics efforts, saying the vessels would be deployed "over the course of several months."

Trump has advocated using the military to thwart cartels he blames for the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into American communities and for perpetuating violence in some US cities. He also has pressed Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to cooperate more on security than her predecessor, specifically being more aggressive in pursuit of Mexico's cartels. But she has drawn a clear line when it comes to Mexico's sovereignty, rejecting suggestions by Trump and others of intervention by the US military.

Trump in February designated Venezuela's Tren de Aragua, MS-13 in El Salvador, and six groups based in Mexico as foreign terrorist organizations. The designation is normally reserved for groups like al-Qaida or the Islamic State group that use violence for political ends—not for money-focused crime rings such as the Latin American cartels. But the Trump administration argues the international connections and operations of the groups—including drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and violent pushes to extend their territory—warrant the designation. Without mentioning the ships, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said in a statement Tuesday that "Washington's accusing Venezuela of drug trafficking reveals its lack of credibility and the failure of its policies in the region."