NEW YORK, November 28. /TASS/. The US military lacks precise knowledge of the identities of those on the boats it targets in anti-drug operations off the coast of Venezuela, The New York Times (NYT) newspaper reports, citing its sources.
"Based on information from people familiar with classified military briefings, the military only knows that someone on these boats is linked to drug cartels and possesses a degree of confidence that drugs are on board. However, in the majority, if not all, cases when the Pentagon conducts such strikes, it does not know exactly who it is killing," the article states.
The newspaper recalled that since the campaign began in September, US forces have killed more than 80 people. The NYT stressed that "the targets of these strikes were not high-ranking cartel leaders." "At best, the military killed low-level individuals whose involvement in drug trafficking might have been limited to transporting cocaine from one location to another; at worst, some of those killed could have been fishermen, migrants, or other individuals with no to the drug trade," the NYT added.
Washington has accused Venezuelan authorities of failing to make sufficient efforts to combat drug smuggling. The US Navy has deployed a strike group led by the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear submarine, and over 16,000 personnel to the Caribbean. Since September, US forces have sunk at least 20 speedboats in the region, causing the deaths of more than 80 people.
US President Donald Trump has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela. American media outlets have repeatedly reported that the United States may soon target sites within the Bolivarian Republic.