president of the United States, Donald TrumpHe mentioned that Thursday night Armed forces ‘will very soon begin’ arresting Venezuelan drug traffickers ‘on land’Having considered that naval operations against drug trafficking have achieved significant results in the Caribbean and Pacific regions. The president issued the message during a Thanksgiving phone call with military personnel deployed overseas.
“Maybe they’ve noticed that people no longer want drugs delivered by sea, and we’re going to start stopping them by land,” Trump declared. It’s also easier on land, but that will start very soon. We warned them to stop sending poison into our country.”. The Head of State did not provide details about the method or scope of the ground measures.
The president stressed that since September 1, US forces have destroyed more than twenty boats that Washington has linked to drug smuggling activities, most of them from Venezuela.
In his message to the army, he said: “In recent weeks, you have been working to stop drug traffickers in Venezuela, of which there are many. Of course, there weren’t many people coming by sea anymore.
Trump justified the bombings with a central argument: “They send their poison to the United States, where they kill thousands of people every year.”. Regarding the progress of the naval campaign, he added: “We are already doing a lot. We have almost stopped it. “We have already stopped 85% by sea.”.
These statements come at a time when the US military presence is reaching its maximum in the Caribbean. Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. FordIt is the largest in the fleet, managing an operation that includes more than a dozen ships, combat aircraft and some 12,000 soldiersThis is aimed at confronting drug trafficking organizations.
Trump had stated in previous days that he had not made a final decision about possible attacks against Venezuelan infrastructure or against Maduro. As he noted on Tuesday “I can speak to save many lives”This statement sparked reactions in Caracas. Prosecutor General of the Venezuelan Regime, Tariq William SaabUnder this approach, the final conversation is “Hello.”
In parallel, system Nicolas Maduro On Wednesday, she canceled her flight privileges Iberia, TAP Air, Avianca, LATAM Colombia, Turkish Airlines and GOLAfter accusing these companies of “joining acts of state terrorism” supposedly promoted by the United States and “unilaterally” suspending their operations to and from Venezuela, according to a letter from the Ministry of Transport and the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC).
The measure was announced after a 48-hour period granted by the dictatorship to airlines that had suspended their flights to resume their routes. That period ended at noon on Wednesday without the companies resuming their work.
“If flights do not resume within 48 hours, do not resume them again.”This was stated by the Minister of the Interior of the dictatorship, Diosdado poetryWhen explaining the official decision.
The affected global companies suspended their services after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning to commercial airlines last Friday.
In this notice, the agency recommended “Be careful” When flying over Venezuela and the southern Caribbean for what I consider “Potentially dangerous situation in the area”. Following this declaration, many operators modified or canceled their routes to and from Venezuelan territory.
Cabello emphasized that the Maduro regime retains full authority over national airspace.“My country’s government decides who travels and who does not. The government reserves the right to accept.”He said during his weekly program Given the hammerbroadcast by Venezolana de Televisión (VTV). According to Minister Chavista, the decision comes in response to the policy of “defending sovereignty” in the face of external pressures.
In the same television space, Capello expanded on the official arguments. “You preserve your planes and we preserve our dignity, and that’s it, no problem.”He expressed this when referring to the six foreign airlines. He also stressed that the system will not accept international companies modifying their operations due to decisions of foreign governments or recommendations of organizations in other countries.
(With information from AFP and EFE)