The U.S. military is strengthening its Navy presence near Venezuela. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Anderson W. Branch)
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has deployed several assets to the region, including USS Iwo Jima, USS Lake Erie, USS Jason Dunham, USS Gravely and USS Sampson, to target criminal organizations and narco-terrorism, Fox News can confirm.
"In support of the President’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs), Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), and counter narco-terrorism to defend the homeland, the Secretary of Defense directed the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group/22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) to the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR)," Col. Chris Devine, a spokesman for the Defense Department, told Fox News.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has deployed several assets to waters near Venezuela. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
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"The enhanced U.S. force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere," he said. "These forces will enhance and augment existing Joint Interagency Task Force – South and USSOUTHCOM capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs and FTOs."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-bolsters-military-presence-caribbean-near-venezuela-amid-trumps-efforts-halt-drug-trafficking