The United States Sends Warships Off the Coast of Venezuela as Part of Escalation Against Maduro

In a new escalation of ongoing tensions between the two countries, a senior U.S. official announced on Wednesday, August 20, that President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of three Aegis-equipped destroyers in international waters off the coast of Venezuela to combat drug trafficking.

This move comes amid an intense campaign by the Trump administration against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose legitimacy is not recognized by Washington, which accuses him of being involved in an international "drug trafficking" network. The official, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Agence France-Presse that the warships "are now en route" to their designated location.

The situation is not limited to the ships alone, as multiple U.S. media reports indicated that the Trump administration also intends to send approximately 4,000 Marines to the Caribbean region near the Venezuelan coast.

This military move comes just weeks after Washington decided to double the reward for capturing Maduro to $50 million, which had been offered earlier in August for information leading to his arrest on drug trafficking charges.

For her part, White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt described the Venezuelan government on Tuesday as a "terrorist cartel for drug trafficking," and referred to Maduro as the "leader of this cartel evading justice." Levitt confirmed, in response to a question about the possibility of deploying U.S. forces, that President Trump would resort to "all means" to "prevent drugs from flooding our country."

Maduro himself described the U.S. reward as "pathetic" and a "blatant political propaganda operation." In response to the U.S. escalation, the Venezuelan president ordered on Monday the deployment of 4.5 million of his "armed militias" to "ensure coverage of the entire territory" of the country. This militia, founded by the late President Hugo Chavez, according to an official source, includes about 5 million civilians and reservists and operates under the command of the military.

It is noteworthy that President Trump frequently raises the banner of combating drug trafficking to justify many of his controversial policies since returning to the White House in January, at a time when relations between Washington and Caracas have been under severe strain for years.