Latin American Drug Trafficking

Venezuela: American Fighter Jets in Our Airspace

Five American aircraft reportedly violated Venezuelan airspace during the night of Friday, reports CNN. The country's Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez calls the move "a provocation":

- These are fighter jets. Attack aircraft that the American imperialist power has dared to send to the Venezuelan coast, he says.

This creates concern about an American military intervention in Venezuela, says Sveriges Radio correspondent Lotten Collin. But she also sees hope on the streets of Caracas that this could be the beginning of the end for President Nicolás Maduro's regime.

Donald Trump has recently changed the tone in what he now calls an "armed conflict" with the drug cartels, which must be fought "in accordance with the laws of war," reports the New York Times.

According to The Hill, this gives the president increased legal opportunities to intervene militarily with reference to drug trafficking. 

Trump: US is in “armed conflict” with cartels

Donald Trump has declared that the US is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels that the White House classifies as terrorist organizations. This is evident from a message that the Trump administration sent to US congressional politicians earlier this week, and which several media outlets have seen.

It states that the Department of Defense has been ordered to strike against the cartels “in accordance with the laws of war.”

“The United States has reached a critical point where we must use force in self-defense and in defense of others against the ongoing attacks.”

According to The Hill, the decision gives the military increased legal authority to attack ships that it claims are loaded with drugs, in the way it did off the coast of Venezuela earlier this fall.