DONALD Trump has warned Venezuela that they are “in trouble” as they flew F-16s over US warships for a second time.
The chilling escalation came after the Don deployed three US naval destroyers to despot Nicolas Maduro’s waters as part of new narco-terror operations.
Donald Trump warned Venezuela are in trouble following another jet flyover[/caption]
F-16s were spotted over a US navy ship again[/caption]
Trump struck a narco boat earlier this week, killing 11[/caption]
The latest swoop over USS Jason Dunham was slammed by US officials who branded the teetering conflict a “game of chicken”.
When asked what Trump’s response would be if Maduro were to fly jets over his destroyers again, the US President said: “I would say they’re going to be in trouble.”
He added: “If they fly in a dangerous position, I would say that… you or your captains can make the decision as to what they want to do.”
It comes after Trump blitzed a drug-smuggling boat which he said were carrying members of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang earlier this week.
The deadly strike killed 11 people on board and marked a huge escalation before he declared full-scale war against the cartels.
The latest development adds to the simmering tensions between Washington and Caracas which kicked off at the start of Trump’s term when he vowed to destroy the cartels.
He made sure that multiple gangs, including Tren de Aragua, were branded “terrorist organisations” – a move he says gives him legitimacy to strike and kill drug smugglers.
On Friday, it was reported the White House was also planning to send 10 F-35 fighter jets to the Caribbean to help with the counter-narco operations.
Washington has already ordered the deployment of more than 4,000 soldiers and three US naval destroyers to the waters around Latin America and the Caribbean.
Sitting on the edge of Venezuela’s territorial waters are USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham and USS Sampson.
After the first flyover, the White House blasted in a statement which read: “Today two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near to a US Navy vessel in international waters.
“This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our narco terror operations.”
They also warned the cartel to back down and not pursue any further attempts to obstruct their military presence to combat cartels.
The F-16 can reach blistering speeds of up to 1,319mph, and carry deadly missiles as well as a six-barrel cannon.
Meanwhile its opponent on two occasions now, USS Jason Dunham, weighs a hulking 9,200 tons and is over 500ft long – also equipped with missiles and a naval gun.
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by Harvey Geh
DONALD Trump has launched his full-scale war on drugs – favouring missiles over law enforcement.
The first day of Trump’s second term kicked off with the designation of narcotraffickers as terrorists – giving him the right to kill them before they can reach American shores.
This is the argument he has used in the face of law experts warning that his decision to strike a suspected drug-smuggling boat on Tuesday was illegal.
Washington-watchers claim that the gangsters should have been arrested – but the White House says that law enforcement is ineffective.
Trump vowed after the blitz: “There’s more where that came from.”
The US President has long spoken of his desire to enact force to take on drug cartels, which he accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of actively backing.
Maduro has denied the allegations, and the last few months have seen teetering escalations deteriorate into a tense standoff.
The US has positioned naval destroyers and soldiers around Maduro’s waters, while the Venezuelan dictator has ordered mass mobilisation of over four million troops.
Following the deadly boat blitz on Tuesday, Trump said: “There was massive amounts of drugs coming into our country to kill a lot of people, and everybody fully understands that.
“Obviously, they wont be doing it again. And I think a lot of other people wont be doing it again.”
He also warned: “There’s more where that came from.”
Meanwhile Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned following the boat attack: “We’ve got assets in the air, assets in the water, assets on ships.
“Because this is a deadly serious mission for us, and it won’t, it won’t stop with just this strike.”
Maduro is funding cartels, Trump says[/caption]
The jets flew over USS Jason Dunham[/caption]
President Trump accuses Maduro of “mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere”.
He says the Venezuelan tyrant is actively backing cartels and funding them.
In response, the Venezuelan President ordered mass mobilisation of over four million troops last month.
Maduro has also hit back claiming Trump is seeking regime change, declaring: “In the face of this maximum military pressure, we have declared maximum preparedness for the defence of Venezuela.”
The tit for tat escalation started with a $50million bounty on Maduro offered by Washington.
On top of this, $700million worth of assets with alleged links to Maduro have been seized since August – including luxury goods and private jets.
Salvadoran police officers cut the hair of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua[/caption]
USS Sampson docks at the Amador International Cruise Terminal in Panama on Tuesday[/caption]