美国高级官员告诉记者，唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)总统打击委内瑞拉附近贩毒分子的计划显然是为了阻止冠状病毒的传播，该计划是几个月前制定的，目的是向尼古拉斯·马杜罗总统施压，与减轻疾病无关新闻周刊。
他们说，周三的声明是为了转移对政府在国内处理疫情不当的批评。
据五角大楼一名高级官员称，总统推动反毒品贸易措施的计划至少可以追溯到去年12月，军事人员之间的讨论从今年1月开始。2月1日，参谋长联席会议主席陆军上将马克·米莉指示美国南方司令部开始设计行动，南方司令部司令海军上将克雷格·斯·费勒于2月6日开始评估行动过程，文件见新闻周刊显示。
这位熟悉此次行动的五角大楼高级官员告诉记者，“这本应该在5月份之前公开。”新闻周刊。"波托斯正在利用这次行动试图转移注意力."
在白宫冠状病毒特别工作组周三举行的每日简报会上，特朗普在国防部长马克·埃斯珀和其他官员的陪同下，宣布了一项雄心勃勃的多国禁毒行动，包括海军、空军和海岸警卫队的军舰和飞机前往加勒比海，以“保护美国人民免受非法毒品的致命祸害，”他说。
“我们不能让贩毒集团利用这种流行病来威胁美国人的生命，”总统补充道。
斯珀附和总司令说:“随着世界各国将注意力转移到应对冠状病毒大流行上，许多犯罪组织正试图利用这场危机。”
到周五，白宫转移了它的信息。一名官员并没有说这次任务的目的是阻止人口贩子利用这种流行病，而是将它与阻止这种疾病的扩散联系起来。
一名政府高级官员告诉记者:“跨国犯罪组织和贩运者正试图利用COVID-19大流行，增加他们的非法贸易活动，这可能导致病毒在不同人群和远距离传播。”新闻周刊。
多名美国高级官员与新闻周刊在匿名的条件下，因为他们没有被授权公开谈论的努力表示“震惊”在这一合并。
五角大楼高级官员告诉记者新闻周刊委内瑞拉禁毒行动“与病毒无关”
2019年5月6日，美国海岸警卫队成员在东太平洋从一艘低调的快速船只上卸下违禁品。唐纳德·特朗普总统宣布了在加勒比海拦截毒品的多国联合军事部署。上士·乔丹·汤普森/国防媒体活动/美国空军
COVID-19病例在全球范围内飙升至100万大关，其中约四分之一的病例是在美国报告的，这是迄今为止受灾最严重的国家。这种疾病最早于去年年底在中国城市武汉被记录，但很快向西传播，美国于1月20日记录了第一例病例——尽管特朗普直到2月28日才把对冠状病毒的担忧视为他的政治对手捏造的最新“骗局”。
当最初的2月1日缉毒行动计划命令下达时，或2月6日南方司令部开始自己的配方时，整个拉丁美洲都没有报告确认的COVID-19病例。第一个病例于2月26日在巴西出现。
马杜罗已成为华盛顿强硬派的目标，他们试图驱逐左倾的拉美领导人，这一行动是特朗普政府针对他的最大压力运动的最新升级。司法部上周起诉了马杜罗和主要行政官员，指控他们与哥伦比亚革命武装力量勾结。
华盛顿在去年1月切断了与社会党领袖的联系，并试图将他赶下台，转而支持反对派控制的国民议会领袖胡安·瓜伊多。尽管得到了地区支持，但瓜伊多仍难以保持势头，而总统仍获得了军方和各种非国家行为者的支持，其中一些人被指控运送和交易毒品。
本周早些时候，美国国务院发布了一项名为“委内瑞拉民主过渡框架”的权力分享计划，该计划没有让马杜罗担任总统，但允许他的一些高级支持者保留他们的职位。包括俄罗斯和中国在内的许多国家仍然从国外支持马杜罗，联合国认为他是这个国家的领导人。
这位五角大楼高级官员表示，美国情报部门“有证据表明，马杜罗正在利用委内瑞拉和古巴之间的军舰贩运毒品”，并补充说，白宫“认为，毒品贩运的中断将夺走马杜罗至关重要的资金来源，进一步动摇他在政权内部和委内瑞拉公众中的支持，增加对瓜伊多的支持。”
“这次行动的前提是打击毒品走私——但你什么时候听说过用这种力量贩毒？”这位官员对我说新闻周刊。"根本目的是给马杜罗政权施压。"
批评者质疑这一宣布的时机，以及在美国忙于应对冠状病毒对人类生活和经济造成的灾难性影响时，这是否是对联邦资源的恰当使用。
药物政策联盟的政策宣传和活动董事总经理卡斯桑德拉·弗雷德里克(Kassandra Frederique)称，特朗普政府的军事舰队规模“是为了转移美国人对其迟迟未能应对的COVID-19危机的注意力——我们知道，在这一点上，这场危机可能会夺去数十万人的生命。”
“鉴于我们目前面临的公共卫生危机，这些行动不仅是不负责任的，而且不断升级的国际毒品战争重复了美国在全球支持的同样错误的军事反应，这种反应伤害并破坏了哥伦比亚、阿富汗和墨西哥等国家的稳定——同时未能减少毒品供应或毒品使用，”她在发给的一份声明中补充道新闻周刊。
弗雷德里克认为，“特朗普不必要地选择加倍打击残酷和不人道的国际禁毒战争，这场战争已经摧毁了国内外无数社区，”尤其是在美国需要所有资源(如个人防护设备)的时候，它可以在国内抗击冠状病毒。
3月23日，在委内瑞拉的加拉加斯，戴着防护面具的男子在佩塔尔社区散步。虽然尼古拉斯·马杜罗总统(在背景中的墙上)宣布实行国家隔离，但国际社会担心的是该国将如何通过经济危机和美国的严厉制裁来控制这一流行病。
前副助理国防部长伊芙琳·法卡什也对此表示怀疑。她告诉我新闻周刊“除了试图改变特朗普对冠状病毒大流行的致命管理不善之外，很难将这些最新的军事部署视为其他任何事情。”
“我明白，我们的国家安全和国土安全行动不能因为当前的危机而停止，但它令人难以相信，从整体上看，我们的国家现在正面临的威胁，加大缉毒力度将是重中之重，”法卡什说，他作为参议院军事委员会的专业工作人员，对缉毒行动负有监督责任。
“总的来说，不管我们谈论的是可笑的隔离墙、儿童隔离还是沙文主义军事行动，特朗普的方法都没有基于证据或专业知识来解决非法毒品流入我国的真正问题，”她补充道。“最终，如果敌对行为者利用了COVID-19，就有必要做出回应，但同样，还有更紧迫的威胁——我们知道俄罗斯和中国的假情报试图利用COVID-19，但总统却无所作为。”
马杜罗也不认为美国的行动是为了改变国内的对话。“特朗普政府绝望地试图将媒体的注意力转移到委内瑞拉。但是他们不能也不会！媒体已经将注意力转移到美国人民因大流行而经历的内部危机上。我们处于和平之中！”周四，这位领导人发表了一份声明。
委内瑞拉总统面临着他自己的内部危机，创纪录的恶性通货膨胀摧毁了已经崩溃的经济和政治动荡。色深味浓的继承了经济增长的历史性繁荣在他已故的前任，联合社会党创始人乌戈·查韦斯的领导下，该国的国内生产总值很快下降，在2017年再次暴跌之前经历了短暂的复苏，同年特朗普政府对该国实施了制裁。
上个月，联合国人权事务高级专员米歇尔·巴切莱特呼吁主要国家放松制裁而不是施加压力——对委内瑞拉这样的国家。
她在3月24日的一份声明中表示:“在这个关键时刻，出于全球公共卫生的原因，也为了支持这些国家数百万人的权利和生命，应该放松或暂停部门制裁。”。“在全球大流行的背景下，阻碍一个国家的医疗努力会增加我们所有人的风险。”
Statista提供的图表显示了截至4月3日初新冠状病毒的全球传播情况。100多万人受灾，其中225 000多人已经康复，58 000多人死亡。STATISTA
上述图形由提供Statista
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION USED VENEZUELA ANTI-DRUG OPERATION TO DISTRACT FROM CORONAVIRUS CRISIS AT HOME, OFFICIALS SAY
President Donald Trump's plan for cracking down on drug traffickers near Venezuela in an apparent attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus was a mission developed months ago to pressure President Nicolás Maduro and had nothing to do with mitigating the disease, senior U.S. officials told Newsweek.
Wednesday's announcement, they said, was instead a move to deflect criticism about the administration's mishandling of the outbreak at home.
The president's plans to boost anti-drug trade measures date back at least to December, with discussions beginning among military personnel in January, according to a senior Pentagon official. On February 1, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Army General Mark Milley directed U.S. Southern Command to start designing the operation, and SOUTHCOM commander Navy Admiral Craig S. Faller began evaluating the course of action on February 6, as documents seen by Newsweek showed.
"This wasn't supposed to be put in the public until May," the senior Pentagon official who was familiar with the operation told Newsweek. "POTUS is using the operation to attempt to redirect attention."
At a daily briefing held Wednesday by the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Trump, flanked by Defense Secretary Mark Esper and other officials, announced an ambitious, multinational counternarcotics operation involving warships and aircraft of the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard to the Caribbean in order "to protect the American people from the deadly scourge of illegal narcotics," he said.
"We must not let the drug cartels exploit the pandemic to threaten American lives," the president added.
Esper echoed the commander-in-chief: "As nations around the world shift their focus inward to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, many criminal organizations are attempting to capitalize on the crisis."
By Friday, the White House shifted its messaging. Rather than saying the mission was intended to stop traffickers from exploiting the pandemic, an official linked it to stopping the proliferation of the disease.
"Transnational Criminal Organizations and traffickers are seeking to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing their illicit trade activity, which can contribute to the spread of the virus among diverse groups of people and across vast distances," a senior administration official told Newsweek.
Multiple senior U.S. officials who spoke to Newsweek on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the effort expressed "shock" at this conflation.
The senior Pentagon official told Newsweek that the Venezuelan counternarcotics operation "has nothing to do with the virus."
U.S. Coast Guard members off-load contraband from a low profile go-fast vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, May 6, 2019. President Donald Trump announced a multinational, combined military deployment to intercept narcotics in the Caribbean.
COVID-19 instances have soared past the 1 million mark worldwide and roughly a quarter of these cases were reported in the U.S., by far the worst-hit country so far. The disease was first recorded late last year in the Chinese city of Wuhan, but quickly spread West, with the U.S. recording its first case on January 20—although Trump as late as February 28 dismissed concerns about the coronavirus as the latest "hoax" concocted by his political opponents.
No confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported throughout Latin America when the initial February 1 planning order was given for the counternarcotics mission, or on February 6 when SOUTHCOM began its own formulations. The first case came on February 26, in Brazil.
Maduro has been targeted by Washington hardliners seeking to oust left-leaning Latin American leaders, and the operation is the latest escalation in the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign against him. The Justice Department last week indicted Maduro and leading administration officials on narcoterrorism charges, alleging collusion with the insurgent Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Washington cut ties with the socialist leader in January of last year and has since sought to oust him in favor of opposition-controlled National Assembly leader Juan Guaidó, who despite regional support has struggled to maintain momentum while the president retained the backing of the military and various non-state actors, some of whom have been accused of moving and trading narcotics.
Earlier this week, the State Department released a power-sharing plan called the Democratic Transition Framework for Venezuela that did not include Maduro as president but permitted some of his top supporters to retain their positions. Many nations, including Russia and China, still back Maduro from abroad and the United Nations views him as the country's leader.
The senior Pentagon official said that the U.S. Intelligence Community "has evidence that Maduro is trafficking drugs using naval vessels between Venezuela and Cuba," and added that the White House "believes a disruption in drug trafficking will take away a vital funding stream for Maduro, further destabilizing his support both within his regime and among the Venezuelan public, increasing support for Guaidó."
"The premise of the operation is a surge against drug trafficking—but when have you ever heard of using that type of force for drugs?" the official said to Newsweek. "The underlying purpose is to pressurize the Maduro regime."
Critics questioned the timing of the announcement and whether it was a proper use of federal resources when the country was scrambling to cope with the disastrous effects the coronavirus was having on human lives and the economy.
Kassandra Frederique, managing director of policy advocacy and campaigns at the Drug Policy Alliance, called the size of the Trump administration's military fleet "an effort to distract Americans from his delayed response to the COVID-19 crisis—which at this point we know will likely cost hundreds of thousands of lives."
"Not only are these actions irresponsible given the current public health crisis we are in, but escalating the international drug war repeats the same misguided military response the U.S. has supported globally, which has harmed and destabilized countries like Colombia, Afghanistan and Mexico—all the while failing to reduce drug supply or drug use," she added in a statement sent to Newsweek.
Frederique argued that "Trump is unnecessarily choosing to double down on the cruel and inhumane international war on drugs, which has already devastated countless communities domestically and abroad," especially at a time when the U.S. needed all the resources, such as personal protective equipment, it could get to battle coronavirus at home.
Men wearing a protective mask walk in the Petare neighborhood on March 23 in Caracas, Venezuela. While President Nicolás Maduro (depicted on the wall in the background) declared national quarantine, the international community is concerned about how the country will control the pandemic with its economic crisis and heavy U.S. sanctions.
Former Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Evelyn Farkas also expressed skepticism. She told Newsweek it was "hard to see these latest deployments of military force as anything other than an attempt to change the conversation from Trump's deadly mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic."
"I appreciate that our national security and homeland security operations cannot halt due to the current crisis, but it beggars belief that looking holistically at the threats our nation is facing right now, that ramping up narcotics interdiction would be very high on that list," said Farkas, who had oversight responsibility for counternarcotics operations as a Senate Armed Services Committee professional staff member.
"In general, Trump's approach, whether we are talking about the ridiculous wall, child separation, or chauvinistic military operations, has not been based on evidence or expertise to address the real issue of illegal narcotics flowing into our country," she added. "Ultimately, there is a need to respond if hostile actors are taking advantage of COVID-19, but again, there are more pressing threats—we know that Russian and Chinese disinformation is trying to capitalize on COVID-19, yet the President has done little to nothing."
Maduro, too, dismissed the U.S. operation as a bid to change the conversation at home. "The Trump administration, in desperation, has tried to divert media attention to Venezuela. But they could not and will not! The media have turned their attention to the internal crisis that the American people are experiencing due to the Pandemic. We are at Peace!" a statement attributed to the leader read Thursday.
The Venezuelan president faces his own internal crisis with record hyperinflation ravaging an already-wrecked economy and political unrest. Maduro inherited a historic boom in economic growth under his late predecessor, United Socialist Party founder Hugo Chávez, but the country's GDP soon declined, experiencing a brief recovery before plummeting again in 2017, the same year the Trump administration imposed sanctions against the country.
Last month the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on leading nations to ease sanctions—rather than exert pressure campaigns—on countries such as Venezuela.
"At this crucial time, both for global public health reasons, and to support the rights and lives of millions of people in these countries, sectoral sanctions should be eased or suspended," she said in a March 24 statement. "In a context of global pandemic, impeding medical efforts in one country heightens the risk for all of us."
A graphic provided by Statista shows the global spread of the new coronavirus as of early April 3. More than one million people have been afflicted, over 225,000 of whom have recovered and over 58,000 of whom have died. STATISTA
The above graphics were provided by Statista.
