The United States has deployed three Navy destroyers and approximately 4,000 troops to waters off Venezuela, escalating pressure on President Nicolas Maduro less than two weeks after announcing a $50 million reward for information leading to his arrest, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.

According to U.S. officials, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson have been dispatched to the southern Caribbean.

The deployment is part of an operation aimed at combating threats posed by Latin American drug cartels, which the Trump administration has designated as global terrorist organizations.

A U.S. official told Reuters that in addition to the destroyers, the broader mission will include several P-8 reconnaissance aircraft, additional naval warships, and at least one attack submarine.

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The deployment, involving sailors and Marines, is expected to last for several months and will include intelligence and surveillance operations in international waters and airspace.

The ships could also serve as platforms for potential targeted strikes against cartel infrastructure and assets.

President Donald Trump has previously vowed to use military power to disrupt Latin American cartels, which his administration formally labeled terrorist organizations in February.

Among those groups are Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, other major gangs in the region, and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua criminal network.

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Maracaibo-Venezuela-25-07-2024. President Nicolás Maduro is welcomed by a crowd of Venezuelans and militants of the ruling PSUV party, at the closing of the campaign in the city of Maracaibo.

Maduro responded to the deployment on Monday in a televised address, warning that Venezuela would defend its sovereignty.

“Venezuela will defend our seas, our skies and our lands,” he said, referring to what he described as “the outlandish, bizarre threat of a declining empire.”

The U.S. initiative follows a March announcement offering $50 million for information leading to Maduro’s capture, as Washington continues to increase diplomatic and military pressure on Caracas.

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The Trump administration has maintained that the growing presence of transnational cartels in Latin America poses a direct threat to U.S. national security.

Officials say the latest deployment highlights a coordinated effort to strengthen surveillance, disrupt smuggling routes, and restrict the operational reach of criminal groups tied to drug trafficking.

The operation is expected to continue through the coming months, with U.S. forces conducting surveillance patrols and intelligence gathering across the southern Caribbean region.

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