Trump says U.S. will soon target drug traffickers on land

AWANI

President Donald Trump says the U.S. will “very soon” begin targeting Venezuelan drug trafficking “by land,” marking a new escalation in tensions with Caracas as U.S. forces continue deployments across Latin America.

Transcript

00:00The United States says it will start targeting what it calls Venezuelan drug trafficking by land.

00:06President Donald Trump made the announcement as tensions with Caracas continue to rise.

00:11Venezuela has accused Washington of using these operations as a cover

00:14to try to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.

00:19The statement comes after weeks of U.S. military deployments,

00:23including an aircraft carrier group, stealth fighters and about 15,000 troops to the region.

00:28Trump had accused President Nicolás Maduro and top officials of running a major drug operation,

00:35a claim Maduro has denied.

00:37Earlier this week, the Trump administration designated the Cartel de los Soles,

00:42allegedly led by Maduro as a foreign terrorist organization.

00:46U.S. forces have already carried out more than 20 strikes on alleged drug trafficking vessels

00:51in the Caribbean and the Pacific since September, killing at least 83 people.

00:56Legal experts and several Latin American governments have described the campaign as extrajudicial killings.

01:04Caracas accused Washington of using drug trafficking as a pretext for military action aimed at toppling Maduro.

01:11Caracas binge

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