Here are the facts on the American military operation against Venezuela

A dramatic American military attack on an alleged drug smuggling boat off the coast of Venezuela was the first – but not the last – a wider operation, according to officials.

The US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, says that military operations will continue, paving the way for a sustained military campaign in Latin America.

Late Tuesday, US President Donald Trump published a video showing the air strike that destroyed a small ship. Trump later said that he was carrying “massive amounts of drugs” and 11 “terrorists”, all killed.

This decision follows a military accumulation that started weeks ago, including the rapprochement of Venezuela’s warships, as well as thousands of troops. The army claims that the operation aims to prevent cartels from shipping drugs to the United States

Trump suggested that the video was aimed at dissuading others. “Obviously, they will not return it and I think that many other people would not do it again when they look at this band,” he said.

Without providing evidence, Trump said the 11 killed was part of the Aragua gang Tren.

Look | He killed in a military strike on an alleged drug boat leaving Venezuela, the United States said:

The United States said 11 killed in a military strike on an alleged drug boat leaving Venezuela

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States had made a military strike in the South Caribbean, killing 11 people aboard what he said to be a drug-carrying ship operated by the Gang Tren in Aragua who left Venezuela.

What is Aragua’s train?

Tren de Aragua is a drug cartel that started as a prison gang formed by prisoners in the central state of Aragua in Venezuela over ten years ago. It is known for its extreme violence, including decapitations and burial of living people. One of the founders, Hector Guerrero, has been in prison for years.

Over the years, the group has spread its operations in Chile, Colombia and other neighboring countries, then more recently, in New York, Chicago and the suburbs of Denver. The authorities say that its members are responsible for the abduction, extortion, sex trafficking and smuggling drugs.

The Biden Administration appointed last year of Aragua a transnational crime organization.

Once Trump took over, he went further. In February, he appointed Tren of Aragua as a “foreign terrorist organization”, as well as other similar groups in Latin America, something normally used for political groups such as Al-Qaeda, not criminal gangs.

Trump holds the group responsible for what he describes as a flow of violent migrants in the United States which, according to him, terrorize people in cities.

What are the gang ties with President Maduro?

Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro denies any link with Tren de Aragua. The Venezuelan government claims that it dismantled the gang in 2023 and goes so far as to say that it is a fiction created by the international media.

He also says that the gang is part of a plot supported by the United States and the opposition of Venezuela to kill Maduro and destabilize the country.

But the Trump administration calls Maduro, one of the biggest narco-transceivers in the world, saying that it works with cartels to flood the United States of cocaine with fentanyl laces.

These allegations are prior to Trump’s current duration. Maduro was charged in New York in 2020 on the accusations of narco-terrorism, and an American award of $ 15 million offered for his arrest. The Biden administration later lifted $ 25 million. Last month, Prosecutor General Pam Bondi doubled him at $ 50 million.

Bondi said that $ 700 million in Maduro has been seized, including two private jets and seven tonnes of cocaine.

Will the United States invade Venezuela?

In mid-August, it was clear that the United States had decided to involve the army.

Three naval destroyers and a cruiser have been compared to the Venezuelan coast in recent weeks. A military official said that three amphibious assault ships are also said to be in the region next week. They are able to transport more than 4,000 soldiers and marine.

So far, nothing indicates that an invasion is imminent. But the military and the Trump administration do not say much about the extent of its operation.

When asked if the United States would consider military strikes in Venezuela, press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not say no. “The president is ready to use all the elements of the American power to prevent drugs from flooding in our country and translating the leaders in court,” she said.

What is the reaction of the Maduro government?

Maduro spoke to the Venezuelan people on Monday, asking them to prepare for an invasion.

“Faced with this maximum military pressure, we declared a maximum preparation for the defense of Venezuela,” said Maduro about deployment, which he called “extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody” threat “.

He deployed troops along the coast and on the border with Colombia. He also urged Venezuelans to enlist in a civil militia.

The Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yvan Gil, said: “Let us immediately demand the end of this deployment, which has no other reason than to threaten a sovereign people.”

Maduro legitimacy problem

Maduro said once again this week that he won the presidential election last year. But this is strongly disputed. Canada says that the assertion it has won is fraudulent and does not recognize its management, and the United States

Venezuela’s political opposition has put pressure on the United States and other countries to help withdraw Maduro from its functions. Opposition chief Maria Corina Machado said that the American military deployment is the right approach, saying that the Maduro government is a criminal enterprise.