Venezuela: Trump signals imminent land attacks

As tensions and rhetoric between the US and Venezuela continue to rise, President Donald Trump has announced the closure of Venezuelan airspace — sparking fears of an imminent US land attack.

The Caribbean Sea is already now largely closed to drug smugglers from South America, but on Thursday Donald Trump announced that American troops will also begin land strikes on suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers “very soon.”

Marking another significant escalation, Trump said on Saturday that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be closed in its entirety, DW reports.

Since early September, the US has killed more than 80 people in attacks on around 20 speedboats with suspected drug smugglers on board — mostly from Venezuela — in the southern Caribbean. Venezuela describes the actions as “extrajudicial executions” and international observers see them as clear violations of international law.

But of greater concern to Caracas has been the associated demonstration of force off the Venezuelan coast by the US. In the last three months, the US Navy has assembled around 12,000 soldiers and a dozen warships, among them the world’s largest aircraft carrier.

The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which has been ruling by increasingly authoritarian means for over 20 years, with President Nicolás Maduro at its helm, sees this as a direct threat to both the party and the country’s sovereignty.

Officially, the US military operation now known as “Southern Spear” is aimed at combating drug smuggling from South America to the US. But the massive military deployment is fueling doubts on many sides that this can be the only goal. Geopolitical interests, such as diminishing the influence of China and Russia in the region, along with economic concerns, have been cited as possible motives. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world.

There is no doubt that the US government wants to pressure the Venezuelan government. Trump has repeatedly referred to Maduro and his government as narco-terrorists. The United States has offered a $50 million (€58 million) bounty for Maduro’s capture — twice as much as that offered for Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The “Cartel de los Soles” (Cartel of the Suns), said to be led by Maduro, was also officially designated a terrorist organization early this week. Named after the shoulder insignia worn by officers, the alleged criminal organization has roots in the Venezuelan military. And since PSUV has also always based its power largely on the country’s armed forces, Venezuela’s rise as one of South America’s most important drug trafficking hubs has fueled suspicions that the government is also involved.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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