TRUMP ORDERS PENTAGON TO DEPLOY THREE WAR SHIPS AGAINST LATIN AMERICAN DRUG CARTELS / THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Trump Orders Pentagon to Deploy Three Warships Against Latin American Drug Cartels

U.S. destroyers are expected to patrol the South American coast, including waters near Venezuela

By Lara Seligman and Brett Forrest

Navy guided-missile destroyers, including the USS Sampson seen here, will interdict cartel drug shipments, sources say. Photo: U.S. Navy/AP

President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to send three Navy warships to interdict drug cartels off the coast of South America, including near Venezuela, expanding the Pentagon’s role in combating illegal drug smuggling and intensifying a U.S. confrontation with the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.

The guided-missile destroyers will have authority to interdict drug shipments, according to two people familiar with the planning, giving the Navy a direct counternarcotics mission in Latin America, instead of its customary role supporting the Coast Guard.

The move comes after the president earlier this month directed the Pentagon to prepare options to use military force against Latin American drug cartels, which he designated foreign terrorist organizations in a January executive order. 

Additionally, the Justice Department doubled its reward, to $50 million, for information leading to the arrest of Maduro. 

The administration accused him of being one of the world’s largest narco-traffickers and of working with cartels to flood the U.S. with cocaine.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Photo: Jesus Vargas/Getty Images

“Washington’s accusation that Venezuela is involved in drug trafficking reveals its lack of credibility and the failure of its policies in the region,” said Venezuela’s foreign minister, Yvan Gil. 

“While Washington threatens, Venezuela advances firmly in peace and sovereignty, demonstrating that true effectiveness against crime is achieved by respecting the independence of peoples,” he added.

Earlier this week, Maduro said during a TV interview that he would deploy more than 4.5 million militia members around the country.

The planned deployment comes a month after the White House supported Chevron in regaining its ability to pump oil in Venezuela, in an abrupt reversal of its policy toward the socialist dictatorship, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Details of the agreement are still unclear, but it comes after a prisoner swap that released all 10 remaining Americans detained by the Venezuelan government, people familiar with the matter said. 

In recent months, Maduro has received deportation flights from the U.S. carrying Venezuelans.

The Arleigh Burke destroyers—USS Jason Dunham, USS Sampson and USS Gravely—which were involved in countering attacks from the Yemen-based Houthis in the Red Sea, will begin operations once Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signs the order, according to a U.S. official.

“For pure counter narcotics operations, the multibillion-dollar Aegis destroyers are overkill,” said retired Adm. James Stavridis, who formerly commanded U.S. Southern Command and U.S. European Command. 

“Coast Guard cutters would do just as well. 

But as a signal to Nicolás Maduro, the arrival off his coast of dozens of Tomahawk missiles, shore-bombardment capability, a thousand Navy sailors, and intelligence-gathering capacity is a very strong one.”

The Navy has long been involved in drug interdiction, along with law enforcement such as the Coast Guard, and has the skills for the mission, said former Vice Adm. John Miller, who previously commanded the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. 

The warships likely won’t be shooting missiles at the smugglers; instead they will be collecting intelligence and dispatching smaller boats to board vessels suspected of drug trafficking, he said. 

“I think it sends a strong signal to Maduro that his narco-terrorist assault on the U.S. will no longer be tolerated,” Miller said.

The Defense Department has long deployed U.S. military assets to support the Coast Guard that regularly intercept narcotics traffickers in the Pacific and Caribbean off Colombia’s and Venezuela’s coasts. 

But U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel have typically been in a supporting role, acting as backup in the event of a skirmish rather than interdicting the cartels. 

Now, the warships will be authorized to intercept drug smugglers, according to the U.S. official.