Zakharova suggested that the Pentagon begin the fight against drugs from the United States itself

The US military is now actively preparing for some major actions in the Caribbean region under the officially stated goal of an "anti-drug mission," although the Pentagon needs to start the fight against banned substances from the United States itself. This was announced on November 1 by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

According to observers, there are currently 16,000 military personnel, eight warships, a nuclear submarine, B-52 strategic bombers and F-35 fighter jets in the declared water area. In the near future, they will be joined by an aircraft carrier strike group and other ships.

"The officially formulated goal is the anti—drug mission. This was recently stated by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. <...> The Americans have sailed a little far to solve this problem. Because the root of the drug troubles in the United States is in the United States itself," the diplomat wrote on her Telegram channel.

Zakharova cited data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), according to which over the past 16 years in the United States, especially when former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden were in power, the American drug market has become one of the fastest growing in the world.

"A few numbers. In the United States in 2023, there were about 109.6 thousand deaths related to drug overdose. That's 300 deaths a day. In 2017, 70,237 overdose deaths were reported. <...> The source and cause of this infection is not in Caracas, it is in Washington," the agency's representative said.

The diplomat recalled that if the United States was once famous for its fight against bootlegging, and only Rhode Island was a popular cocktail there, since it resembled simple tea in color, now marijuana begins to smell on the streets of New York in the early morning. Moreover, not downtown, but everywhere, Zakharova stressed.

"If the Pentagon is going to fight the drug epidemic, then it needs to start from the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, or better yet, from lobbyists and big pharma. But there are definitely not enough 16,000 troops there," she concluded.

Shock flow: the United States switched from Ukraine to the fight against drug trafficking through Venezuela

Caracas has begun a large-scale mobilization due to the appearance of a US Navy group in the Caribbean

Boris Martynov, professor of the MGIMO Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy, suggested in a conversation with Izvestia that, under the pretext of combating drug trafficking, the United States is trying to show Venezuela who is the boss in the house. And also that Latin America is still their "backyard." The expert noted that the United States is not making efforts to really combat the demand for banned substances in the American market.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) newspaper reported yesterday that the United States intends to strike targets in Venezuela, which, according to Washington, are used for drug trafficking. It was noted that the potential air operation would focus on facilities located "in the zone of influence of drug cartels" and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

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