US weighs strikes on cartels in Venezuela, F-35 warplanes deploy: Reports
Al Jazeera
Ten F-35 stealth fighter jets reported to be joining US naval operation against Latin American drug cartels.
United States President Donald Trump had ordered the deployment of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Puerto Rico amid a report he is weighing options for strikes targeting drug cartels operating inside Venezuela, according to news organisations.
Sources in the US told news agencies on Friday that 10 of the advanced fighter jets are being sent to an airfield in Puerto Rico as part of operations against Latin American drug cartels designated “narco-terrorist” organisations by Washington.
American broadcaster CNN, citing multiple sources, reported on Friday that the Trump administration is considering attacks on drug trafficking groups inside Venezuela, which would mark a dramatic escalation in already surging tensions between Washington and Caracas.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro called on Friday for the US to “abandon its plan of violent regime change in Venezuela and in all of Latin America”.
The US should “respect sovereignty, the right to peace, to independence,” Maduro said.
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