The United States has deployed additional special-operations aircraft and personnel into the Caribbean area to ramp up pressure on Venezuela, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
At least 10 CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, which are used by special-operations forces, flew into the region Monday night from Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, said the U.S. newspaper, citing a U.S. official.
Flight-tracking data also showed that C-17 cargo aircraft from Fort Stewart and Fort Campbell Army bases arrived in Puerto Rico on Monday. Another U.S. official confirmed that military personnel and equipment were transported on planes, said the report.
It's unclear what types of troops and equipment the aircraft were transporting, but these military bases are home to multiple U.S. special-operations forces, it said.
For almost four months, the U.S. has maintained a heavy military presence in the Caribbean, much of it off Venezuela's coast, purportedly to combat drug trafficking -- a claim Venezuela has denounced as a thinly veiled attempt to bring about regime change in Caracas.
The Pentagon has sunk more than 28 alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean since early September, killing at least 104 people aboard.
U.S. President Donald Trump told NBC News in a phone interview released on Friday that he does not rule out the possibility of a war with Venezuela.
US deploys additional special-operations aircraft, personnel to Caribbean: report
Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza has hailed China as a strong supporter and partner of the organization in the fight against fraud.
Urquiza praised China for its efforts on the sidelines of the Inaugural Conference of the International Alliance Combating Telecom and Cyber Fraud, which was held in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, on Thursday.
At the conference, the China-initiated international alliance aimed at countering cross-border telecom and cyber fraud was established.
Interpol, formally known as the International Criminal Police Organization, is the world's largest international police organization, and has 196 member countries, aiming to help police in all of them to work together to make the world a safer place.
Noting that fraud and cyber-related crimes have become the priority for member countries of Interpol around the globe, Urquiza said initiatives such as the alliance are key on the fight against those threats, while describing the alliance as a "very good step."
Speaking of cooperation between China and Interpol, Urquiza highlighted China's notable contribution to fighting fraud-related crimes in recent years.
"China has been a strong supporter and partner of Interpol for the past years, especially in the fight against fraud. We have partnered with China a couple of years ago to enhance the efforts on building capacity and coordinating operational activities to fight crimes related to fraud," he told China Global Television Network (CGTN).
"With that, we establish an operation that is called the First Light Operation, which is one of the main areas of work of Interpol on the fight against fraud. Under this operation, we have been able to arrest more than 11,000 criminals that were operating fraud schemes and we have been able to locate and seize more than 600 million dollars that were related to criminal activities on fraud," said Urquiza.
Interpol chief hails China as strong supporter, partner in fighting fraud
