‘Hunt you down’
The carrier announcement came after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said an overnight strike on a boat alleged to be operated by Venezuelan drug trafficking gang Tren de Aragua killed six people in the Caribbean Sea.
Hegseth announced the strike in a post on X showing a stationary boat with outboard engines being destroyed in an explosion, saying: “Six male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters - and was the first strike at night.”
“If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda. Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you,” Hegseth added.
Regional tensions have flared as a result of the campaign, with Venezuela accusing the United States of plotting to overthrow Maduro, who said earlier this week that his country has 5000 Russian man-portable surface-to-air missiles to counter US forces.
‘Inflame South America’
On Thursday, at least one US B-1B bomber flew over the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, flight tracking data showed.
That followed a show of force by multiple US B-52 bombers that circled off Venezuela’s coast last week, in what the US military said was a mission “to proactively deter adversary threats, enhance crew training, and ensure the global force readiness necessary”.
Colombia’s Petro - who has accused Trump of murder over the strikes on the alleged drug boats - was sanctioned by the US Treasury on Friday along with his wife and son.
“President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation.”
Petro was defiant, posting on social media: “Not one step back and never on my knees.”
Regional powerhouse Brazil views a US military intervention in Venezuela as unacceptable and fears it could be damaging for the whole of South America, a senior foreign policy adviser told AFP on Thursday.
“We cannot accept an outside intervention because it will trigger immense resentment,” said Celso Amorim, aide to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. “It could inflame South America and lead to radicalisation of politics on the whole continent.”
Trump, meanwhile, said on Thursday that he did not need a declaration of war from US lawmakers to attack Venezuela or other countries he accuses of involvement in the drug trade, warning that strikes on land are coming.
“The land is going to be next,” Trump said, likening drug cartels to the brutal Islamic State jihadist group.
– Agence France-Presse
