Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
Washington, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump said at a White House cabinet meeting on Tuesday that his administration will launch ground strikes against drug traffickers in the Caribbean "very soon."
"We're going to start carrying out these strikes on land. It's much easier, and we know the routes they're using," Trump said at the meeting. "We're going to begin [the operation] very soon," he added.
In his Thanksgiving Day address to the U.S. military on Thursday evening, President Trump thanked the Air Force's 7th Bomb Wing for its work "deterring Venezuelan drug traffickers," declaring that "about 85 percent of them have been stopped by sea… and we're going to start stopping them on land."
“Besides, it’s easier on land, and it all starts very soon,” said D. Trump from his estate in Mar-a-Lago.
Since September 2, the Pentagon has struck at least 21 ships suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing at least 83 people on board.
In recent months, Washington has deployed about a dozen warships, including the large aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, and approximately 15,000 troops to the Caribbean Sea, which borders a significant portion of Venezuela's coastline. Such a large-scale US military presence in the region has not been seen in at least 30 years.
Critics, including several lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol, have for months questioned whether the war on drugs is truly the U.S.'s sole motivation, as well as the legality of U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denies any involvement in drug trafficking and accuses the United States of "fabricating" a pretext to force regime change in his country. –0–
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