NEW YORK, November 26. /TASS/. The United States intends to maintain a military contingent in the Caribbean Sea until November 2028 as tensions in the region increase, The Intercept portal reported quoting documents from the US Department of War.

"The United States is formulating plans to feed a massive military presence in the Caribbean almost to the end of President Donald Trump’s term in office — suggesting the recent influx of American troops to the region won’t end anytime soon," it said.

Mark Cancian, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told The Intercept that the documents suggest the outsized American military presence in the Caribbean could continue for years.

"The procurement’s length of time and the level of effort seemed to point to these operations continuing at the current level for several years," the expert said.

Washington accuses Venezuela not fighting drug smuggling actively enough. Under the pretext of combating drug trafficking, the US Navy deployed a strike group of ships led by the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear submarine and more than 16,000 military personnel in the Caribbean. Since September, the US army has sunk at least 20 speedboats in the region, killing 76 people.

The American media has repeatedly reported that the United States may soon strike drug cartel facilities in Venezuela.