NEW YORK, December 23. /TASS/. The United States moved additional troops and special-operations aircraft to the Caribbean this week, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said, citing unnamed US administration officials and flight-tracking data.

According to the WSJ, at least ten Osprey tiltrotor aircraft that are used in special operations, as well as a C-17 large military transport aircraft capable of taking up to 100 people onboard have been deployed to the area. The officials confirmed to the WSJ that these aircraft had transported troops and military equipment, although giving no further details.

Washington groundlessly accuses Caracas of not doing enough to combat drug smuggling. Under this pretext, a strike group of US warships led by the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, o nuclear-powered submarine, and more than 16,000 troops have reportedly been deployed by the United States to the Caribbean. Since September, the US has destroyed at least 20 boats and eliminated more than 80 people allegedly involved in drug trafficking from Venezuela. According to the American media, the United States may begin delivering strikes on drug cartel targets in Venezuela.