The U.S. military deployed more equipment to the Caribbean as it further escalates pressure on the Maduro regime in Venezuela, according to a new report.
The Wall Street Journal detailed that at least 10 CV-22 Osprey aircraft arrived in the Caribbean theater. They are used to transport special forces. C-17 cargo planes also arrived in Puerto Rico.
The Hill noted that this development means that elite U.S. units will take part in the campaign to force Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro from power.
A spokesperson for the Southern Command declined to comment on the matter "due to operational security concerns." "We do not disclose details on the movement of defense personnel and assets," said Steven McLoud.
The deployments stand in contrast with a recent report by Reuters, which claimed that the White House ordered military forces to focus on enforcing a "quarantine" of tankers off the Venezuelan coast for the next two months.
A White House official told the outlet that while "military options still exist, the focus is to first use economic pressure by enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking."
"The efforts so far have put tremendous pressure on (authoritarian President Nicolas) Maduro, and the belief is that by late January, Venezuela will be facing an economic calamity unless it agrees to make significant concessions to the U.S.," the official added.
Analysts consulted by The Atlantic said the decision could exert significant pressure on Maduro by targeting the regime's main source of revenue, potentially forcing significant concessions while stopping short of guaranteeing regime change.
Juan Gonzalez, a former National Security Council adviser on Latin America under President Joe Biden, said the move strikes at "the single biggest source of revenue that has propped up Maduro's government since 2013." "If the goal is to force concessions, he said, "this is a really smart move."
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