The Pentagon has confirmed that about 10,000 U.S. troops are supporting counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean, The Hill reported.
The move comes as the U.S. military has launched a campaign targeting boats it says are transporting drugs, launching strikes that have killed 27 people.
The Navy has eight ships stationed in the region, The Hill reported.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump confirmed he had authorized the CIA to launch covert action in Venezuela.
The authorization from the White House would allow the CIA to carry out legal operations in Venezuela and across the Caribbean, including taking covert action against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, The New York Times reported.
"They have emptied their prisons into the United States of America," Trump said. "They came in through the border.
"They have allowed thousands and thousands of prisoners, people from mental institutions, insane asylums emptied out into the United States," he continued. "They are the worst abuser."
Trump also said a lot of drugs have come into the United States through Venezuela.
"A lot of Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea, but we're gonna stop them by land also," Trump said.
The United States has offered $50 million for information leading to Maduro's arrest and conviction on federal drug trafficking charges.
In a memo to Congress obtained by The Associated Press, the Trump administration justified the attacks on the ships saying it had "determined that the United States is in a non-international armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations" and that Trump directed the Pentagon to "conduct operations against them pursuant to the law of armed conflict."
The administration has yet to provide underlying evidence to lawmakers proving that the boats targeted by the U.S. military were carrying drugs, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Some Republican lawmakers have pressed the White House for details on the legal justification and scope of the operations, while Democrats say the strikes violate U.S. and international law and risk escalating tensions in the region.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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