Trump’s Carribean Cruise
Arleigh Burke DDG
“…the president is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice.”
Karoline Leavitt
US warships in South America and the reaction in Venezuela
By Regina Garcia Cano and Konstantin Toropin
The United States is boosting its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels with the expected arrival of more vessels next week, an action that will undoubtedly fuel more speculation in Venezuela.
The U.S. government has not signaled any planned land incursion from the thousands of personnel being deployed, and analysts and current and former government officials see no possibility of an invasion in Venezuela.
Still, the deployment has dominated conversations in the streets and at dinner tables in Venezuela, where an alleged threat of invasion is spilling over from social media and state television.The government has capitalized on the speculation by appealing to people, primarily its diminishing base, to enlist in a beleaguered militia, while the opposition is again characterizing U.S. actions as a sign of rule nearing an end.
The U.S. Navy now has two Aegis guided-missile destroyers — the USS Gravely and the USS Jason Dunham — in the Caribbean, as well as the destroyer USS Sampson and the cruiser USS Lake Erie in the Pacific Ocean off Latin America, according to a defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe ongoing operations.
That military presence is set to expand. Three amphibious assault ships — a force that encompasses more than 4,000 sailors and Marines — would be entering the waters off Latin America by next week, the official said.
Pentagon officials have refused to say exactly where the USS Iwo Jima, the USS San Antonio and the USS Fort Lauderdale are heading.
Venezuela has accused the U.S. of attempting regime change and has now deployed 15,000 troops to the western frontier with Colombia. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López announced the deployment of warships, drones, and larger vessels in its territorial waters. I’d be nervous too, but wait for a carrier to show up and join the fun. Someone will think the 50M USD reward for Maduro’s arrest is a pretty good deal. Hmmm, wonder who came up with that?
Category: Big Navy, Foreign Policy
Will wait and see what happens
Think of it as constructive paranoia and a hint to the good folks in Venezuela to maybe either choose a side and or get off the pot. Pun intended.
Destroyers and cruisers patrolling for drug runners? I can back that. An amphibious assault force though? I can’t see a good use for that kind of power
One US Carrier Strike Group has more aircraft and tonnage than all of South America combined. The aircraft will be Gen IV+ instead of 50+ year old surplus Russia and Israeli junk. With training, organization and skill there is no comparison. If Venezuela wants to poke around it should be good fun.
I suspect the ground forces are bound for Columbia or another friendly nation where they will be welcomed. Fighting narco traffickers in the jungle doesn’t sound like my idea of fun. But cutting them off at the source would be much more effective than what we have been doing so far.
I’m not sure I want US Marines running around the jungles of Columbia, or any other South American country. I get sending the Marines has a hefty political statement attached, but Army Special Forces is better suited for this type of mission. Its lower profile, gets the locals to do the heavy lifting. Not in favor of that either, but it makes more sense to me.
SOF is better suited if available. However, a good ANGLICO Team, or whatever they are using these days, could do wonders with IDF and ground strike air craft. That is better than fighting it out with the drug makers. They won’t really argue when they are on fire.
Columbia current has zero ground strike air craft, mostly just reconnaissance planes and a few badly dated A2A jets. Their artillery leaves a bit to be desired. They don’t have a combat helicopter fleet either.
If the Columbians were serious about stopping the drug runners, they could adopt the Nayib Bukele model of law enforcement and they could have them shut down in 3-5 years.
“according to a defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity”
I wonder how many different meanings that phrase has other than being media-speak.
In this instance I suppose it’s mostly propaganda to stir socialists up and is “authorized” leak with specific expectations.
Sure would like to see Maduro in prison and repatriation of the wealth he stole from Venezuela restored to the businesses and citizens he stole it from.
Maybe its a decoy for something else happening/going to happen elsewhere. Think B2 deployment and Iran. All eyes on the seas (shiny object), nobody paying attention to the farmers and their ox carts.
Brings new meaning to “the war on drugs”.
“The U.S. government has not signaled any planned land incursion…”
And keep it that way. Outside your own chain of command, don’t tell nobody nuttin’. Keep ’em guessing.
Only way we’ll ever win this here war on drugs is to get all these crazed Vietnam vets off the streets.
They rescued Sergeant Fourleaf Tayback already, what do you want?
Only way to stop supply is to stop demand. As long as millions of Americans use, those who supply them will try to stay in the supply business.
Yes and no. Stopping demand would be much more effective, but the US people lack the will to do so.
However, drugs can be reduced to a trickle, if they are imported. Fentanyls being an exception, since they are so compact.
Didn’t we see a Venezuelan buildup in their east to threaten an oil-rich patch they are disputing? This could also be a response to that.
I may be a contrarian here, but I am against getting our troops involved in Venezuela or Columbia. I smell another quagmire coming, where bullets come out of the shadows and returned fire is made to look like attacks on innocent villages.
Some of you may have read novels by Harold Coyle. One of his books, Code of Honor, is about the US getting involved militarily in Columbia. It does not end well.
Perhaps that affects my thinking. Or maybe I’m just tired of our men being shot up and our treasure being spent to no end. What say the rest of you?
I agree on all counts, Tom Clancy also wrote A Clear and Present Danger on this scenario. It also went poorly, but it was kept full secret squirrel.
Recreational drugs have wrought an amazing amount of damage to our society, to the point where practically all crime goes back to drugs on some level. They are linked to the vast majority of murders and even where the killing wasn’t over drugs the killer and often the victim both were regular drug users. The vast majority of mass shooters (well over 80%) use drugs recreationally or have mind altering drugs prescribed.
Drugs are behind practically all petty thefts, either because the offender is on drugs and unable to provide for themself or because they need to steal something to trade for drugs, even if it is your weed eater you left on your back porch.
It goes into so many facets of crimes that most people are not even unaware of. For example practically all suicide bombers in Iraq were dosed with drugs, alcohol or both in order to get corrupted thinking and reduce their capacity for reason and inhibitions to not to carry out the plot.
When you add together the number of over doses, those killed in DUI crashes, murders and misadventures we essentially have a holocaust of victims every year. Treatment programs generally don’t work, or work well and are just a different burden.
I could go on and on and on and on, and if you have doubts, ask any current or former police officer who has worked more than a couple of years and you might get much longer conversation about it.
My point is, we accept this, often unknowingly, as part of our society because most believe it can’t be fixed. Kind of how like how the border can’t be closed, murder can’t be stopped in DC or any other number of lies. The question is, what is it worth to us?
Ever read Tom Kratman’s take on waging war on “narcoterrorists”?
In his Carreraverse series ( A Desert Called Peace, and others) a bunch of Cartel bosses and key players wind up nailed to crosses. “Keep that shit out of my Country.” was then told to an emissary of the survivors. At the scene of the cross farm.
Any such war, for real, is going to be the dirtiest, nastiest thing we have ever fought. We better channel the folks who conquered the West, and fast. Because we will soon find ourselves fighting folks with less compassion than recent foes.
Hard fight. And our usual nicenoids will go opposition support real fast.
Hmm. Two-fer?
I definitely respect your opinion on this one. Frankly, ever since our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I’m very leery of sending our men and women service members into Harms Way. One side of me would love to see Maduro either in leg irons doing the duck walk or laying dead in a box. But caution should be used before SHTF.
Every time Maduro opens his pampered mouth about this, I wonder how much the cartels bribe him each month to keep him in line with what they want?
Maduro’s people are too impoverished, mostly, to form a profitable market. So the bribes are probably fairly cheap.
According to latest reports, it’s no longer a static mission.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-announces-us-military-conducted-lethal-strike-venezuelan-drug-boat-caribbean
^
Looks like we have gone live.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-announces-us-military-conducted-lethal-strike-venezuelan-drug-boat-caribbean
As I watched the video of that dope-smuggling boat and its occupants get smoked, the song going through my head as I watched it was “🎶Happy birthday to you, ..🎶”.
How about “Happy, happy, joy joy!” From Ren & Stimpy?