Published by the BBC on April 2, 2020.
(BBC) – The US says it is sending warships to the Caribbean to stop illegal drugs.
“We must not let the drug cartels exploit the [coronavirus] pandemic to threaten American lives,” President Donald Trump said.
The move comes a week after the US charged Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and other senior officials in the country with “narco-terrorism”.
It accused them of flooding the US with cocaine and using drugs as a weapon to undermine the health of Americans.
A $15m (£12.5m) reward was offered for information leading to Mr Maduro’s arrest.
The Venezuelan government called the US deployment a “diversion” from the current pandemic spreading around the US – and the world at large.
The US military deployment will further escalate tensions between the two nations.
