US Guided-Missile Cruiser Crosses Panama Canal Amid Venezuela Naval Deployment

The U.S. guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie was observed crossing the Panama Canal from the Pacific to the Caribbean as part of a Trump administration deployment of seven warships and 4,500 personnel near Venezuelan waters. The deployment, described by Washington as an anti-drug trafficking operation, includes destroyers, an attack submarine, and marines, targeting powerful gangs linked to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the U.S. accuses of leading a drug cartel and has placed a $50 million bounty on. Despite these military maneuvers and maximum pressure policies, including an oil embargo, Maduro remains in power and has mobilized more than four million militia members in response to what he calls "outlandish threats" from the U.S. Maduro dismissed the possibility of a U.S. invasion, asserting there is "no way" American troops could invade Venezuela. The Trump administration acknowledges some uncertainty about the mission's ultimate objectives but has drawn historical parallels to past U.S. interventions such as the operation against Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. Meanwhile, Venezuela has reinforced security forces along its border with Colombia and increased maritime patrols to counter drug trafficking amid escalating tensions.