The US has launched a large-scale military operation near Venezuela

"President Trump gave the order to act, and the Department of Defense is carrying it out. Under the command of Joint Task Force Southern Spear and Southern Command, this mission protects our homeland, rids our hemisphere of narco-terrorists, and protects our homeland from drugs that kill our people. The Western Hemisphere is our home, and we will defend it," he said.

This decision was preceded by a meeting at the White House on November 11. During the meeting, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Keane and other senior military leaders presented US President Donald Trump with military options for action in the region. Among them were possible ground strikes on Venezuela.

The scale of the operation is evidenced by a significant increase in the US military presence in the Southern Command's area of responsibility.

Warships, F-35 fighter jets, and reconnaissance aircraft were sent to the region. The culmination was the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group led by the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford. The ship carries up to 5,000 military personnel, an air wing including F/A-18 Super Hornets, and Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles.

The US administration makes no secret of the fact that the deployment of military forces is part of a strategy to put pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington describes as an “illegitimate leader.”

Photo: Report.