The U.S. military is turning up the heat against drug cartels in the southern Caribbean Sea, deploying several warships and other assets as tensions between Washington and Caracas escalate.

The spotlight on the buildup of U.S. forces in the region increased this week after President Trump announced that the U.S. military took out a boat with a “kinetic” strike, killing 11 people on board, whom U.S. officials said were members of Tren de Aragua, a group designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

The president said that the vessel departed Venezuela and was shot in international waters. Trump added that the vessel was en route to the U.S. and that no U.S. servicemembers were injured in the Tuesday morning operation.

“Please let this serve as notice to anybody e

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