US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in an interview on CBS News' Face The Nation on Sunday that the United States will continue an active military presence in Venezuela and other Latin American countries as part of joint operations against criminal organizations. Hegseth emphasized that American forces were invited by the Venezuelan government to assist in an operation in the state of Bolívar, during which the leader of "Tren de Aragua," Héctor Rustenford Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, was killed. According to him, US security policy in the Western Hemisphere is being built around the creation of an "American Coalition Against the Cartels" in partnership with Central and South American states, and Americans should expect similar operations in countries such as Ecuador and Guatemala aimed at pursuing, destroying, and dismantling foreign terrorist organizations and drug trafficking.
Full version: Pete Hegseth: EEUU mantendrá presencia militar en Venezuela y otros países