US military deploying forces to southern Caribbean against drug groups
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A U.S. Air Force crew chief assigned taxis an E-3 Sentry aircraft for takeoff at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, Aug. 28, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Michelle Y. Alvarez via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service - DVIDS)
By Steve Holland and Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON - The United States has ordered the deployment of U.S. air and naval forces to the Southern Caribbean Sea to address threats from Latin American drug cartels, two sources briefed on the decision told Reuters on Thursday.
The sources had few details of the operation, but President Donald Trump has wanted to use the military to go after Latin American drug gangs that have been designated as global terrorist organizations. The Pentagon had been directed to prepare options.
Trump has made cracking down on drug cartels a central goal of his administration, part of a wider effort to limit migration and secure the U.S. southern border.
The Trump administration in recent months has already deployed at least two warships to help in border security efforts and drug trafficking.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Defense Department has begun ordering the deployment of U.S. air and naval forces to the Southern Caribbean Sea.
"This deployment is aimed at addressing threats to U.S. national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region," one of the sources said.
The Trump administration designated Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and other drug gangs as well as Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua as global terrorist organizations in February, as Trump stepped up immigration enforcement against alleged gang members.
The U.S. military has already been increasing its airborne surveillance of Mexican drug cartels to collect intelligence to determine how to best counter their activities. Trump has previously offered to send U.S. troops to Mexico to help combat drug trafficking, an offer Mexico says it has refused.
(Reporting By Steve Holland and Idrees Ali; Editing by Michael Perry // REUTERS)
