Senior U.S. military officials held talks with the leaders of several Caribbean nations on Wednesday as part of the Trump administration’s growing focus on narcotrafficking operations in Latin America. The meetings also come as U.S. President Donald Trump weighs possible next steps in his pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the Trump administration has accused of heading a criminal organization that oversees drug smuggling into the United States.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Dominican President Luis Abinader and Defense Minister Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre on Wednesday to “strengthen defense relationships and reaffirm America’s commitment to defend the homeland.”
Senior U.S. military officials held talks with the leaders of several Caribbean nations on Wednesday as part of the Trump administration’s growing focus on narcotrafficking operations in Latin America. The meetings also come as U.S. President Donald Trump weighs possible next steps in his pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the Trump administration has accused of heading a criminal organization that oversees drug smuggling into the United States.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Dominican President Luis Abinader and Defense Minister Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre on Wednesday to “strengthen defense relationships and reaffirm America’s commitment to defend the homeland.”
That same day, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, during which the two “exchanged views on challenges affecting the Caribbean region, including the destabilizing effects of illicit narcotics, arms, and human trafficking, and transnational criminal organization activities.” This was Caine’s second time visiting the region since the U.S. military kicked off its counter-narcotrafficking operation there.
In early September, the United States began launching strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats. Since then, Washington has carried out 21 known attacks on vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing at least 83 people. At the same time, Trump has ordered a massive military buildup in the area. Around 15,000 U.S. personnel are now deployed in the Caribbean, including around 5,000 service members in Puerto Rico. This is the United States’ largest military presence in the region in decades.
On Tuesday, Trump floated potentially holding talks with Maduro to de-escalate tensions. Experts have argued that Trump’s Caribbean operation is part of a larger effort to remove Maduro that could see direct U.S. military action against Venezuela.
Read more in today’s World Brief: Top U.S. Military Officials Meet With Caribbean Leaders.
This post is part of FP’s ongoing coverage of the Trump administration. Follow along here.
