Venezuela is denouncing the United States for docking a U.S. warship in Trinidad and Tobago as tensions in the region continue to escalate. The Pentagon is also sending the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the Caribbean. The carrier can hold 90 airplanes and attack helicopters.
On Friday, the Pentagon announced the U.S. had struck another vessel in the Caribbean, killing six people. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the victims were suspected drug traffickers, but offered no proof. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused President Trump of fabricating a war.
President Nicolás Maduro: “And the people of the United States know that they’re making up a new eternal war. They promised that they will never enter a war, and they’re making up a war, that we will avoid. How? With the mobilization of the peoples of South America, as South America and the Caribbean all say no to war, yes to peace, yes to prosperity, yes to harmony and living together.”
On Friday, the Trump administration sanctioned Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his wife and other Colombian officials. In recent weeks, Petro has denounced the U.S. attacks on boats in the Caribbean.
Also on Friday, 10 former Caribbean leaders denounced Trump’s military escalation in the region. The former leaders wrote, “The gravity of the present signals demands that we use all existing channels for dialogue to perpetuate a Zone of Peace.”
We will have more on this story after headlines.
