A US guided-missile cruiser was spotted crossing the Panama Canal as part of a build-up of ships near Venezuela — as administration gave a dire prediction about the country’s dictator Nicolás Maduro.
The USS Eerie crossed the Panama Canal from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea Friday night — over a week after President Trump directed at least eight Navy warships to the region in a bid to counter narco-terrorists in South America.
The move is also in part meant to ramp-up the pressure on the far-left Maduro, whom the United States views as an illegitimate leader following two bogus elections, sources close to the administration told The Post.
“The clock is about to strike midnight for Maduro,” a source close to the administration told The Post on Saturday. “And it’s not a Cinderella story.”
As many as 4,500 service members – including three guided-missile destroyers and a nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine – were in region or expected to arrive within the coming week, The Post reported Thursday.
Those ships are the USS Gravely, the USS Jason Dunham and the USS Sampson, according to a US official. At least one spy plane is believed to be joining the operation.
Earlier this month, Washington placed a $50 million bounty on Maduro’s head — roughly twice the price of that placed on Osama bin Ladin before his death in 2011.
Administration has been clear that the naval buildup is targeted at South American drug traffickers, but a Trump administration official told Axios Friday that “if Maduro winds up no longer in power, no one will be crying.”
A ground invasion is not likely, the military contingent aboard the ships including roughly 2,200 Marines, leaving open the option, the outlet reported.
Asked Thursday whether the US was planning an invasion into Venezuela, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not rule out the option — stating she did not want to “get ahead of the president.”
“Many Caribbean nations and many nations in the region have applauded the administration’s counter drug operations and efforts,” she said. “And the president is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice.”
“The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela. It is a narco-terror cartel. Maduro is not a legitimate president. He is a fugitive head of this drug cartel.”
Venezuela on Thursday suffered power outages throughout the country, though reasons were not immediately clear.
Trump recently authorized the use of military capabilities for countering former drug cartels, and this is one of the first major shows of force in Latin America since that decision was announced earlier this month.
Maduro’s Cartel de los Soles has shipped hundreds of tons of cocaine and other illicit drugs to the US since the early 2000s, raking in millions.
In July, the US Justice Department listed the cartel as a specially designated global terrorist group, opening them up for military targeting.