The U.S. Navy warship USS Sampson (DDG 102) docks at the Amador International Cruise Terminal in Panama City on Sept. 2, 2025. Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said Sept. 7 that more troops would be sent to states along the country’s Caribbean coast to combat drug trafficking, five days after the U.S. military killed 11 people aboard a boat allegedly carrying narcotics from Venezuela.
Padrino said Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro had ordered the deployment of 15,000 additional troops.
