Trump Deploys Military as Drug Cartels Try to Exploit Pandemic to Infiltrate US

[TomSea]

Trump Deploys Military as Drug Cartels Try to Exploit Pandemic to Infiltrate US
By Ivan Pentchoukov   April 1, 2020

The Navy deployed warships to the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea at the direction of President Donald Trump on April 1 as part of an operation to counter drug cartels. The cartels, according to intelligence, are actively planning to exploit the global CCP virus pandemic to smuggle more drugs into the United States.

The mission involves sending additional Navy warships, surveillance aircraft, and special forces teams to nearly double the U.S. counter-narcotics capacity in the Western Hemisphere, with forces operating both in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said 22 partner nations would support the mission.

“As governments and nations focus on the coronavirus, there is a growing threat that cartels, criminals, terrorists, and other malign actors will try to exploit the situation for their own gain,” Trump said. “We must not let that happen.”

More at:  https://www.ntd.com/trump-deploys-military-as-drug-cartels-try-to-exploit-pandemic-to-infiltrate-us_451204.html

Really, an update of the previous stories of sending anti-drug ships into the Caribbean.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Trump announces enhanced narcotic operations amid coronavirus, deploys destroyers and Air Force assets
Fox News, Apr 1, 2020

President Trump -- flanked by Attorney General Bill Barr, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and top military officials at the White House coronavirus briefing -- announced on Wednesday a massive new "counternarcotics operation" in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea to "combat the flow of illicit drugs into the United States."

"We must not let the drug cartels exploit the pandemic to threaten American lives," Trump said. "In cooperation with the 22 partner nations, U.S. Southern Command will increase surveillance, disruption and seizures of drug shipments and provide additional support for eradication efforts, which are going on right now at a record pace."

[...]

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the United States had obtained intelligence that cartels were seeking to "take advantage" of the coronavirus to smuggle drugs. Asked about the intelligence later in the briefing, Trump called it strong but wouldn't elaborate.

"We came upon some intelligence some time ago that the drug cartels as a result of COVID-19 were gonna try to take advantage of the situation and try to infiltrate additional drugs into our country," Milley remarked. "As we know, 70,000 Americans die on an average annual basis to drugs. That's unacceptable. We're at war with COVID-19, we're at war with terrorists, and we are at war with the drug cartels, as well."

"This is the United States military. You will not penetrate this country," Milley continued matter-of-factly. "You will not get past Jump Street. You are not going to come in here and kill additional Americans."

The other assembled officials echoed his message.


More:  https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-announces-advances-counternarcotics-operation-deploys-destroyers-and-air-force-assets

During the briefing Q&A the President also had a message for Iran (who's apparently contemplating attacks on our troops in Iraq):  "Don't even think about it".

Overall, this briefing was a reminder to friend and foe alike that even with the coronavirus --- the US Military is still open for business.