02.04.2020, Washington.
The so-called “enhanced counter-narcotics operations” that the USA announced target the Venezuelan authorities and personally President Maduro, US President Donald Trump said at a press conference on April 1 in the White House.
Trump, and National Security Advisor O’Brien who is echoing him, stressed that the US forces that are deploying in Latin America are intended first of all to counter drug trafficking that supports the Maduro regime. Trump reiterated his accusations against the Venezuelan president of organizing a network that brings hundreds of tons of cocaine to US cities.
To this end, an international coalition of states loyal to the US is being formed in the region. Large forces, first of all the Navy, but other services and branches as well, are deployed under the US Southern Command.
Trump stressed that no large increase in drug trafficking is taking place, but these moves are proactive measures.
Editorial comment
Having failed to change the regime in Caracas relying on the pro-US liberal groups led by the self-proclaimed president Juan Guaidó, Washington changed its approach. Now, President Nicolás Maduro is accused not only of repression and lack of democracy, but also of drug trafficking. And this is not just a change in rhetoric.
The US has vast experience in changing Latin American regimes under the guise of countering drug trafficking. The most well-known example is probably the so-called “Operation Just Cause” of 1989, when pro-US military overthrew the former US ally, President of Panama Manuel Antonio Noriega, under drug trafficking charges.
By outlawing the legitimate Venezuelan authorities through the accusations of international drug trafficking, the US authorities free their hands for any violent actions, including military invasion of the Bolivarian Republic. All it needs now is a provocation in order to blame Venezuela for attacking one of the numerous navy ships that are entering the Caribbean Sea. This is something the US is good at, too, having vast experience from Havana to the Gulf of Tonkin.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
