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The US has attacked several Venezuelan ships and deployed its largest military force to Latin America in decades.
US President Donald Trump's campaign against "narco-terrorists" has transformed the Caribbean into a new military battlefield.
Since August, Washington has deployed thousands of troops, warships and aircraft across the region, redeployed military bases in Puerto Rico and conducted major exercises, in what analysts describe as the largest US presence in Latin America in decades.
In September, the US began a series of attacks on Venezuelan ships suspected of smuggling drugs to US territory. The latest attack, carried out on Friday, left six people on board dead. Last week, Trump said he had authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela and was even considering a ground intervention.
However, on Thursday, the president denied that this constitutes a declaration of war on Venezuela: " I don't think we will necessarily seek a declaration of war ," he said.
" We're just going to kill the people who bring drugs into our country. Got it? We're going to kill them ," Trump added.
How many Venezuelan ships has the US attacked?
The US military has carried out at least ten deadly attacks on ships off the coast of Venezuela, in the Caribbean Sea and in the Pacific Ocean since September 2 — a level of military activity not seen in Latin America since the invasion of Panama in 1989.
The operations were conducted under the command of the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and, according to statements by Trump and defense officials, have caused at least 43 casualties.
According to data compiled by the organization Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), most of the attacks occurred near the Venezuelan coast or in international waters, which raises doubts about the legality of the use of force, especially in the absence of an immediate threat to the US.
What is SOUTHCOM?
United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), headquartered in Doral, Florida, is one of the 11 joint combatant commands of the U.S. Department of War (now called that by the Trump administration, after being renamed the “Department of Defense”).
SOUTHCOM oversees operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean, including the defense of the Panama Canal. Other commands include:
NORTHCOM (North America),
EUCOM (Europe),
AFRICOM (Africa),
CENTCOM (Middle East),
INDOPACOM (Indo-Pacific),
as well as structures with global responsibilities such as CYBERCOM (cyber operations), SPACECOM (space), STRATCOM (nuclear deterrence), TRANSCOM (strategic logistics), and SOCOM (special forces).
While SOUTHCOM's official mission is to combat drug trafficking, the increased American presence near Venezuela is seen by observers as a sign of the Trump administration's deeper strategic interest in the region.
What military capabilities have been deployed?
The US military presence in the Caribbean is very large and includes:
-expeditionary forces ready for action,
-navy and air force units,
-special operations troops.
According to Al Jazeera's defense editor, Alex Gatopoulos: "This is the largest deployment of US forces to the region in decades. The deployed forces are prepared for ground assaults, not typical counter-narcotics operations."
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