The United States has deployed three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels, according to a U.S. official briefed on the planning. The USS Gravely, the USS Jason Dunham and the USS Sampson are expected to arrive soon, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
A Defense Department official confirmed that the military assets have been assigned to the region in support of counternarcotics efforts. The official said the vessels would be deployed over the course of several months.
The deployment of U.S. destroyers and personnel comes as Trump has pushed for using the U.S. military to thwart cartels blamed for the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into U.S. communities and for perpetuating violence in U.S. cities. Trump also has pressed Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to cooperate more on security than her predecessor, specifically being more aggressive in pursuit of Mexico’s cartels.
Trump in February designated Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, MS-13 in El Salvador and six groups based in Mexico as foreign terrorist organizations. The U.S. also has stepped up immigration enforcement against alleged gang members.
The U.S. argues the international connections and operations of the groups, including drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and violent pushes to extend their territory, warrant the designation. Earlier in August, the U.S. government announced it was doubling to $50 million a reward for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of being one of the world’s largest narcotraffickers and working with cartels to flood the U.S. with fentanyl-laced cocaine.
Maduro said the U.S. had increased its threats against Venezuela and announced the planned deployment of more than 4.5 million militia members around the country. The militias were created by then-President Hugo Chávez to incorporate volunteers who could assist the armed forces in the defense of external and domestic attacks.
Maduro was indicted in a New York federal court in 2020, along with several close allies on federal charges of narcoterrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. Back then, the U.S. offered a $15 million reward for his arrest.