OREANDA-NEWS Russia hopes that the United States will not take actions that could lead to destabilization of the situation in the Caribbean and around Venezuela, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"We hope that no actions will be taken that could lead to the destabilization of the situation in the Caribbean and around Venezuela," Peskov told reporters.

Earlier, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth announced a new operation against drug terrorists in the Western Hemisphere called Southern Spear.

At the end of October, Hegseth ordered the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group to be placed at the disposal of the US Southern Command in Central and South America.

The United States justifies its military presence in the Caribbean region by fighting drug trafficking. In September and October, they repeatedly used their armed forces to destroy boats allegedly carrying drugs off the coast of Venezuela.
The American television channel NBC reported in late September that the US armed forces were working on options for targeting drug traffickers inside Venezuela. In November, US President Donald Trump expressed the opinion that Nicolas Maduro's days at the head of Venezuela were numbered, while he assured that Washington had no plans to go to war with Caracas.