Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 31/Aug 04:32

US warship crosses Panama Canal amid Caribbean buildup

A US guided-missile cruiser crossed the Panama Canal on the night of August 29, adding to Washington’s growing naval presence in the southern Caribbean close to Venezuela. According to French outlet AFP, the USS Lake Erie, a Ticonderoga-class cruiser based in San Diego, California, was seen entering the canal at around 9.30 pm before continuing eastward into the Atlantic. The vessel had been moored for two days at the Port of Rodman, near the canal’s Pacific entrance, before beginning its transit. The ship’s passage follows the Trump administration’s decision earlier this month to deploy a significant naval force to the region. US officials have described the mission as an anti-drug trafficking operation, targeting networks they link to Venezuelan state structures. Trump has accused President Nicolas Maduro of leading a cartel-like regime and, in early August, doubled the reward for his capture to US$50 million. While no public threat of invasion has been issued, the deployment of heavily armed vessels has raised alarm across Latin America. The US buildup is reported to include at least seven ships, among them Aegis-equipped destroyers such as the USS Gravely and USS Jason Dunham, the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima with thousands of personnel on board, and the nuclear-powered submarine USS Newport News. Some of these vessels are capable of carrying Tomahawk missiles. The Pentagon has stressed that the operation is directed against transnational cartels, which President Donald Trump designated as terrorist organisations in February. Officials argue that treating the cartels as armed groups rather than criminal gangs gives the US greater scope to use military and intelligence assets against them. Caracas has denounced the deployments as a provocation. On August 25, Venezuelan authorities announced the deployment of 15,000 security personnel to the Colombian border as part of their own anti-trafficking initiative. The following day, the Maduro government said its navy and air force would begin patrolling territorial waters with ships and drones. Maduro also claimed to have mobilised more than four million militia members, many of them civilian supporters of the ruling socialist party, in what he described as a show of resistance to US “threats.” AFP reported that thousands of civil servants, retirees, and housewives lined up in Caracas last weekend to join the militia, though opposition figures dismissed the enrolment drive as symbolic. On August 28, Maduro declared there was “no way” US forces could invade Venezuela, but senior officials have continued to frame the naval deployments as a dangerous escalation. Diosdado Cabello, vice-president of the ruling PSUV, went further by accusing Trinidad and Tobago of “hypocrisy,” claiming Port of Spain was voicing solidarity with Venezuela while supporting US military actions in nearby waters. The Trinidad and Tobago government has rejected suggestions that it is part of a US plot to remove Maduro. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said her administration supports international efforts to curb narcotics flows but has not entered into any military alliance with Washington and has not granted US forces access to local bases. She stressed that the American warships remain in international waters and that Trinidad and Tobago continues to maintain a functional relationship with Caracas. Foreign Affairs Minister Sean Sobers echoed this position, saying the government is balancing regional security co-operation with respect for Venezuelan sovereignty. The post US warship crosses Panama Canal amid Caribbean buildup appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.