The White House calls its decision to send naval forces and 4,000 troops off the coast of Venezuela a drug-interdiction effort. The move has also prompted speculation that President Donald Trump may be preparing something more aggressive against the country¡¯s leader, Nicolas Maduro.
The deployment of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit gives the U.S. the capability to attack targets on land ¡ª a much different specialty than that possessed by the nimble Coast Guard cutters and high-speed boats that normally intercept South American cocaine.
Two of the ships are headed for the southern Caribbean, just north of Venezuela, with the third in the Pacific.
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