The United States Navy has added a new vessel to its already impressive deployment in the Caribbean and Panama's Pacific waters, as part of the anti-drug operation launched by President Donald Trump against drug trafficking centered in Venezuela.
It is the USS Stockdale (DDG-106), a guided missile destroyer of the Arleigh Burke class, which docked this Sunday in the port of Balboa, in Panama City, as confirmed by the U.S. embassy in that country.
The mission, officially described as a "scheduled visit," aims to strengthen cooperation in security and the fight against organized crime, in line with the bilateral memorandum signed in April that allows for greater temporary and rotating U.S. military presence in Panama.
"The arrival of the USS Stockdale highlights the strong security collaboration between the United States and Panama, working together to combat organized crime and malign foreign influence," noted the diplomatic representation on social media, according to Forbes Centroamérica.
A chain of naval movements
The Stockdale becomes the fourth U.S. guided missile destroyer deployed in the area, alongside the USS Gravely, the USS Jason Dunham, and the USS Sampson, which are already conducting anti-drug patrols off the coast of Venezuela.
In parallel, other large units, such as the USS Lake Erie, recently transited the Panama Canal, and an amphibious squadron consisting of the USS San Antonio, the USS Iwo Jima, and the USS Fort Lauderdale remains in the Caribbean with more than 4,500 Marines on board.
According to sources from the Pentagon cited by Reuters and CBS, the full deployment now includes more than 15 warships, a dozen aircraft, and 7,000 personnel.
Response from Caracas
The White House maintains that the operation aims to dismantle the networks of the Cartel of the Suns, an organization that Washington claims is led by Nicolás Maduro himself.
The U.S. government has raised the reward for his capture to 50 million dollars, while labeling the Chavista regime as an “illegitimate narco-state.”
In Caracas, the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López, denounced the presence of these ships as a “direct threat” and announced from a military bunker the reinforcement of troops in the coastal states of Venezuela.
Maduro, for his part, has warned that the country is ready to move to a stage of "planned armed struggle" if it is attacked.
The arrival of the USS Stockdale in Panama not only reinforces the naval blockade around Venezuela but also ensures the protection of the Panama Canal, a key component in Washington's global strategy and a logistical link for its military operations in the hemisphere.
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