Donald Trump 'could strike Venezuela to destroy cartels' after 'unusual' US Navy move

Key cartel sites could be destroyed if President Donald Trump gives the order for the might of the US Navy to attack Venezuela, a retired colonel has told The Mirror . The arrival of the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford signalled Trump could be prepared to escalate his campaign against suspected drug trafficking boats off the coast of Venezuela, that has resulted in at least 75 deaths since August. President Trump previously vowed to the American people he would crush the drug trade that has seen the steady flow of fentanyl claiming lives of tens of thousands in the country each year. But as the naval strike group started to arrive in the Caribbean, Trump said Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro's "days are numbered", hinting he is prepared to topple the regime, as his administration claims it's harbouring cartels that go on to smuggle opioids into the US. Retired US Marine Corps Colonel and senior advisor to the Center for Strategic and International Studies Mark Cancian told the Mirror that Trump could order direct strikes against the cartels as well as Maduro. "The build up is unusual, the US has not had a large a force in the Caribbean certainly since 2000 and the end of US operations in Haiti," he said. "In terms of targets in a US strike, there are two targets with some overlap. The first target set is the cartels, the US could attack production facilities, remote airfields, port warehouses, ship building facilities that the cartels use. "The other target set is the Maduro regime itself. The US could strike headquarters, security forces for the armed forces . It could go after the leadership and go after some of the air defences. The Venezuelans have enough ground forces, numbers almost 100,000 excluding militias and reservists, that it could contest a ground invasion." Multiple administrations in Washington DC have opposed dictatorships in Venezuela, with figures in Trump's cabinet viewing far-left Maduro with hostility. They have argued Maduro's tyrannical grip on the South American country has emboldened cartels and, as a result, allowed drug traffickers to act more boldly in smuggling drugs into the US. These concerns have likely played a major factor in Trump's decision to order US numerous warships and submarines to head toward the Caribbean. While the US has a considerable presence in the Caribbean, it only has a a small number of marines in comparison to Venezuela's ground forces, ruling out a ground offensive in the short term, said Mr Cancian. "The US has about 2,200 marines in the vicinity and, while it sounds very intimidating, that is not a large enough force to land in Venezuela," he said. "The US would need to significantly reinforce that. The Ford would be adequate to conduct long-range strikes." While Washington DC hopes any strikes will topple the Maduro regime, Cancian said there is a risk that cartels could exert control away from larger population centres. If a new government could be formed in the event of Maduro being removed from power, he added the US would not support them with American troops on he ground but could be persuaded to supply military aid, training and moving to secure peacekeeping troops from other countries to assist it should it consolidate power. Trump will gamble that any such move could gain American support, despite growing voices in the country wanting the US to disentangle itself from foreign conflicts. Cancian told The Mirror any military aid to Venezuela would be smaller than the multiple billions given to Ukraine and that the level of conflict on the ground would be less compared to the Eastern European conflict. The US President would likely argue steps to support any new administration would be to counter the drug effort and directly protect US citizens.