Trump said last week that he had approved covert operations by the US foreign intelligence agency CIA in Venezuela. He is also considering extending the US military operation in the Caribbean, which has been ongoing since the beginning of September, to the mainland. According to Trump, the operation is aimed at drug smuggling.
The government of Trinidad and Tobago announced on Thursday that the US warship “USS Gravely” would dock in the capital Port of Spain from Sunday. The Foreign Ministry of the Caribbean island nation located near the Venezuelan coast said a unit of the US Marines would hold joint exercises with the armed forces of Trinidad and Tobago.
Trump sent warships to the Caribbean a few weeks ago. The US ships repeatedly attacked small boats that were allegedly transporting drugs. Meanwhile, according to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, the US military also attacked boats in the Pacific. At least 37 people have been killed in the attacks so far.
However, Washington has provided no evidence that the targets of the attacks were actually drug smugglers’ boats. Critics say the attacks are illegal – even if they were actually aimed at drug traffickers.
The US military operation in the Caribbean has significantly increased tensions between the US and Venezuela. Trump accuses Venezuela’s left-wing authoritarian leader Maduro of controlling drug gangs. Venezuela, for its part, warned of a US invasion of the South American country. There were also warnings of a US invasion in neighboring Colombia.
On Thursday, at least one US fighter jet flew over the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, flight tracking data showed. A B-1B jet flew toward the Venezuelan coast before turning and disappearing north, tracking website Flightradar24 showed. There had already been a similar incident last week.
Trump denied on Thursday that he had sent B-1B fighter jets to Venezuela. “We are not happy with them. They have emptied their prisons in our country,” he told reporters, referring to the government in Caracas and migration to the United States. The US president added that his administration would “not necessarily demand a declaration of war” from Congress. “We will simply kill those who come to our country,” he said.
The US Constitution grants the president a great deal of power as commander in chief of the armed forces. Declarations of war, on the other hand, are the prerogative of Congress. After the Second World War, US presidents repeatedly went into military conflict without Congress declaring war.
