Warship and U.S. Marines expected for exercises starting Sunday in Trinidad and Tobago, a country located very close to Venezuela; bomber spotted near the coast: Washington is intensifying military pressure on Caracas, which responds with a “no to the war of fools.”
Washington has deployed seven warships in the Caribbean and one in the Gulf of Mexico, officially as part of an anti-narcotics operation specifically targeting Venezuela and its president Nicolás Maduro.
The United States has claimed responsibility for nine attacks in recent weeks, which have caused at least 37 deaths in total.
“The USS Gravely (…) will visit Trinidad and Tobago from October 26 to 30, docking in Port of Spain, while the 22nd U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit will conduct joint training exercises with the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) during the same period,” according to a statement from the government of the archipelago, whose western tip lies just a few kilometers from Venezuela.
At the same time, an American B-1B bomber flew over the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela on Thursday, according to flight-tracking data—marking the second show of force of this kind in recent days—as Donald Trump flexes his muscles against the South American nation.
“That’s not true,” Donald Trump said when questioned during an event at the White House, while adding that the United States remains “unhappy with Venezuela for many reasons.”
In response to the U.S. deployment in the Caribbean, Maduro, who has been trying for weeks to ease tensions with Trump, once again called for peace—this time with a humorous tone: “Yes peace, yes peace, forever, peace forever! No crazy war, please! Please, please! No a la guerra loca, no crazy war!” declared Nicolás Maduro.
Humor aside, Nicolás Maduro, who has ordered a series of military exercises since August, also noted on Thursday that equipment purchased from Russia and China was tested during these drills. Such statements, however, could accelerate his downfall.
