Donald Trump sends navy to put choke on Nicolas Maduro

Donald Trump ordered the US navy toward Venezuela as he beefs up counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean.

Nicolas Maduro delivers a televised address to the nation from Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas this week. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump has ordered the US navy towards Venezuela as his administration beefs up counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean following a US drug indictment against Nicolas Maduro.

“The Venezuelan people continue to suffer tremendously due to Maduro and his criminal control over the country, and drug traffickers are seizing on this lawlessness,” US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said on Thursday.

The deployment is one of the largest US military operations in the region since the 1989 invasion of Panama to remove Manuel Noriega from power and bring him to the US to face drug ­charges. It involves navy warships, AWACS surveillance aircraft and on-ground special forces seldom seen before in the region.

The goal is to nearly double the US counter-narcotics capacity in the western hemisphere, with ­forces operating in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Mr Esper said the mission would be supported by 22 partner nations.

The US President added: “As governments and nations focus on the coronavirus, there is a growing threat that cartels, criminals, terrorists and other malign actors will try to exploit the situation for their own gain. We must not let that happen.”

The enhanced mission has been months in the making but has taken on greater urgency following last week’s indictment of Mr Maduro, Venezuela’s embattled socialist leader, and members of his inner circle and military. They are accused of leading a narco­terrorist conspiracy responsible for smuggling up to 250 tonnes of cocaine a year into the US, about half of it by sea.

“If I was just indicted for drug trafficking by the US, with a $US15m reward for my capture, having the US navy conducting anti-drug operations off my coast would be something I would worry about,” said Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican senator.

Mr Maduro’s communications minister, Jorge Rodriguez, called the deployment a “desperate attempt to distract attention from the tragic humanitarian crisis” in the US caused by the coronavirus.

In an ironic jab, he said that for “the first time” in decades, the US is trying to choke off the supply of cocaine, which he noted mostly comes from Colombia, a staunch US ally. Mr Maduro has blasted the Trump administration’s offer of a $US15m reward for his arrest, calling it the work of a “racist cowboy” aimed at getting US hands on Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, the world’s largest.

Others have faulted a US plan, unveiled on Wednesday by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to create a five-member council without Mr Maduro or opposition leader Juan Guaido to govern the country until elections can be held within a year. While it's the first attempt in months by the US to seek a negotiated solution to Venezuela’s stalemate, coming on the heels of the indictments, many say it has little hope of succeeding and is likely to drive Mr Maduro farther away from the path of dialogue. The Trump administration has long insisted that all options are on the table for removing Mr Maduro, including military ones. Still, there’s no indication then, or now, that any sort of US invasion is being planned.

Rather, the sending of ships fits into a longstanding call by the US Southern Command for extra ­assets to combat a growing narcotics and other threats in the hemisphere.

It could also be an attempt to send a message of protection for Mr Guaido, recognised as Venezuelan president by the US, Australia and about 50 other nations.

AP