US expands naval presence near Venezuela amid drug interdiction push

The United States has surged naval and military forces into the southern Caribbean this week, citing an expanded campaign to interdict drug trafficking near Venezuela, and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has responded with troop deployments, militia recruitment and diplomatic protests, heightening tensions in the region. President Donald Trump also announced a U.S. strike on a drug-carrying vessel that he said had departed Venezuela, a move U.S. defense officials later confirmed while declining to provide operational details.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, described a significantly larger than usual deployment of surface ships, aircraft and at least one nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine to waters near Venezuela. Accounts vary: one U.S. official said seven warships plus a submarine were in or en route to the region, while other reporting noted a task force of as many as eight warships and the planned arrival of three amphibious assault ships carrying more than 4,000 sailors and Marines. Named vessels include USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio, USS Fort Lauderdale, USS Sampson, USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham and the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie,...