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In his first term as US president, Donald Trump reportedly suggested nuking hurricanes. In his second he has caused fresh concern by ordering the Pentagon to start nuclear weapons tests.His latest remarks, made minutes before a landmark meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, follow a pattern of deeply contradictory signals about atomic bombs.One day Trump talks about making a deal with Russia and China to give up their arsenals. The next he appears — though no one is sure — to be talking about overturning a three-decade halt on testing.But the subject also appears to fascinate him.Barely a speech goes by without him addressing the destructive power of nuclear weapons with a kind of awe that befits a 79-year-old who grew up during the Cold War.”It’s been on his mind since the 80s. He wants to solve this issue,” Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, told AFP.”My concern is that his current approach as president is incoherent, inconsistent, and his team is not constructed or managed in a way that can follow through on his best intentions.”- ‘Rocket man’ -The threat — and promise — of nuclear weapons has been a thread through both of Trump’s presidencies.During his first he spent much time and energy on summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — after initially dubbing Kim “Rocket Man” and threatening Pyongyang with “fire and fury like the world has never seen.”Trump’s three encounters with Kim failed to produce any deal with the only country known to have carried out nuclear tests in the 21st century.But the US president has continued to hold out hope of a breakthrough, saying he would have liked to meet Kim during his trip to Asia this week and hailing their “great relationship.”It wasn’t just nuclear proliferation on Trump’s mind in his first term.A report emerged in 2019 that Trump had asked national security officials whether it would be possible to drop an atomic bomb in a hurricane to stop it approaching US shores. Trump said the report was “fake news.” After his return to the White House in January, Trump swiftly rekindled his old obsession.He has repeatedly suggested a deal with Russia and China for “de-nuking,” and in February even suggested an extraordinary three-way summit with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the subject.”There’s no reason for us to be building brand new nuclear weapons,” Trump told reporters at the time. “We already have so many you could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over.”- ‘Madman’ theory -Yet at other times he has rattled the nuclear saber. Discussing his recent decision to deploy two US submarines after what he said were nuclear threats by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, Trump even referenced a racial slur.”I call it the n-word. There are two n-words and you can’t use either of them,” Trump said in a speech to top US military officers in September.Trump’s comments ordering the Pentagon to “start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis” with Russia and China have, however, caused unusual confusion and alarm.Why would Trump talk about restarting full tests? It was possible that Trump was using the “madman” theory of bold threats to coerce adversaries into deals — an approach he has often relied on in trade and other negotiations, said Kimball, the arms control expert.But he added that “for the president to make such provocative, ambiguous statements is irresponsible and dangerous and frankly incompetent.” Kimball compared the situation to the recently released movie “A House of Dynamite,” a nuclear thriller in which a US president faces the dilemma of how to respond to a lone missile strike as he evacuates Washington in his helicopter.Trump, he pointed out, “is the same guy who would be sitting on Marine One.”

Stock markets wobbled Thursday as traders digested a high-stakes meeting between the US and Chinese presidents, mixed company earnings and uncertainty over further US interest rate cuts.US President Donald Trump described his meeting in South Korea with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping — their first since 2019 — as “amazing.”The two leaders agreed to calm the US-China trade war that has shaken global markets, with Washington cutting some tariffs and Beijing committing to keep supplies of critical rare earths flowing.But the two sides have yet to produce a signed agreement, which means “continued uncertainty about how that relationship will play out, because both sides, the US and China, have shown that they’re kind of willing to ruffle some feathers when they think it’s necessary,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.Anticipation of the meeting had helped lift stocks to new records. But momentum has faded.Wall Street indices retreated, with the Nasdaq dropping the most of the three major indices at 1.6 percent. “The market was vulnerable to this,” said CFRA’s Sam Stovall, alluding to lofty equity valuations that positioned equities to drop at the “one two punch” of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve decision and disappointing tech earnings.Asia markets ended mostly lower, while in Europe both Frankfurt and London ended the day flat after wobbling in afternoon trading. Shares in Meta dove around 11.3 percent after it reported an 83 percent drop in profits to $2.7 billion following a roughly $16-billion hit from a one-time accounting shift due to a US fiscal overhaul legislation favored by Trump.Microsoft shares shed 2.9 percent and shares in Google-parent Alphabet rose 2.5 percent.Analysts described the market reaction as stemming from the investor understanding that the AI boom may not be without bumps.”The business models of the big technology firms are becoming more capital intensive, as they build out their AI capabilities,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. If AI fails to deliver revenue streams, “the effect on share prices could be brutal,” he added.However Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada said that “unless there’s a significant negative surprise from the remaining tech giants yet to report, equities could well have further room to climb.”Amazon and Apple report after US markets close on Thursday.Seoul’s stock market got a lift from tech giant Samsung Electronics posting a 32-percent rise in on-year profits for the third quarter, driven by AI-fueled market demand for memory chips.The European Central Bank held interest rates steady, as expected, as inflation hovers around its target and the eurozone economy holds up. Data on Thursday showed the eurozone economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter of 2025. The Bank of Japan also held interest rates steady on Thursday, sending the yen higher, after the US Federal Reserve delivered a second quarter-point rate cut. Fed chair Powell’s announcement, however, cast doubt on an additional cut in December, jolting US markets and lifting the value of the dollar on Wednesday.- Key figures at around 2015 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 47,522.12 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 1.0 percent at 6,822.34 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.6 percent at 23,581.14 (close)London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 9,760.06 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,157.29 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 24,118.89 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 51,325.61 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 26,282.69 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,986.90 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1564 from $1.1601 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3142 from $1.3194Dollar/yen: UP at 154.06 yen from 152.73 yenEuro/pound: UP at 87.98 from 87.92 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $65.00 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $60.57 per barrelburs-jmb/des

The Trump administration announced plans on Thursday to drastically cut back the number of refugees to be accepted annually by the United States to a record low and give priority to white South Africans.Under the new policy, the United States would welcome 7,500 refugees in fiscal 2026, down from more than 100,000 a year under Democratic president Joe Biden.The vast majority of those being accepted during the fiscal year which began on October 1 would be white South Africans and “other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands,” according to a White House memo.”The admissions numbers shall primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa,” it said.Republican President Donald Trump essentially halted refugee arrivals after taking office in January, but has been making an exception for white South Africans despite Pretoria’s insistence that they do not face persecution in their homeland.A first group of around 50 Afrikaners — descendants of the first European settlers of South Africa — arrived for resettlement in the United States in May.Trump campaigned for the White House on a pledge to deport millions of undocumented migrants and signed an executive order in January suspending the US Refugee Admissions Program.Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said that since 1980 more than two million people fleeing persecution have been admitted into the United States under the program.”Now it will be used as a pathway for White immigration,” Reichlin-Melnick said on X. “What a downfall for a crown jewel of America’s international humanitarian programs.”- ‘Lifeline’ -Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of another immigration-focused group, Global Refuge, also criticized the move by the Trump administration.”For more than four decades, the US refugee program has been a lifeline for families fleeing war, persecution, and repression,” Vignarajah said in a statement.”At a time of crisis in countries ranging from Afghanistan to Venezuela to Sudan and beyond, concentrating the vast majority of admissions on one group undermines the program’s purpose as well as its credibility.”In addition to slashing refugee numbers, the Trump administration has moved to strip Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghans, Haitians, Venezuelans and nationals of several other countries.The United States grants TPS to foreign citizens who cannot safely return home because of war, natural disasters or other “extraordinary” conditions.Trump has said the Afrikaners being taken in as refugees by the United States are fleeing a “terrible situation” back home and has even gone so far as to describe it as “genocide,” an allegation widely dismissed as absurd.Whites, who make up 7.3 percent of South Africa’s population, generally enjoy a higher standard of living than the Black majority. They still own two-thirds of farmland and on average earn three times as much as Black South Africans.Mainly Afrikaner-led governments imposed the race-based apartheid system that denied Black people political and economic rights until it was voted out in 1994.

US President Donald Trump landed back in Washington Thursday after a surprise directive to begin nuclear weapons testing that raised the specter of renewed superpower tensions.The announcement on social media was issued just before Trump — who boasts frequently about being a peace president —  went into a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea.But the announcement left much unanswered — chiefly about whether he meant testing weapons systems or actually conducting test explosions, something the United States has not done since 1992.Vice President JD Vance said that the US nuclear arsenal needed to be tested to ensure it actually “functions properly,” but did not elaborate on what type of tests Trump had ordered.The president’s statement “speaks for itself,” Vance told reporters at the White House.”It’s an important part of American national security to make sure that this nuclear arsenal we have actually functions properly, and that’s part of a testing regime,” he added.Trump’s statement nevertheless amounted to unusual nuclear sabre rattling.It came came days after Russia declared it had tested nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered cruise missiles and sea drones. “Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump said on Truth Social.Trump also claimed that the United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country and that he had achieved this in his first term as president.That however appeared to be untrue. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says in its latest annual report that Russia possesses 5,489 nuclear warheads, compared to 5,177 for the United States and 600 for China. In his post, Trump said — minutes ahead of his Xi summit — that China was expected to “be even within 5 years.”- Russia pushes back -The Kremlin questioned whether Trump was well-informed about Russia’s military activities.The recent weapons drills “cannot in any way be interpreted as a nuclear test,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. “We hope that the information was conveyed correctly to President Trump.”Peskov then implied that Russia would conduct its own live warhead tests if Trump did it first.Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun urged the United States to “earnestly abide” by a global nuclear testing ban.Both countries observe a de facto moratorium on testing nuclear warheads, though Russia and the United States do regularly run military drills involving nuclear-capable systems.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said through his deputy spokesman that “nuclear testing can never be permitted under any circumstances.”The United States has been a signatory since 1996 to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which bans all atomic test explosions, whether for military or civilian purposes.Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that it had been “many years” since the United States had conducted nuclear tests, but it was “appropriate” to start again.Further muddying the waters, Trump also repeated in his remarks to reporters a previous claim that he wants negotiations with Russia and China on reducing nuclear weapons forces.”Denuclearization would be a tremendous thing,” he said.- Last US test in 1992 -The United States conducted 1,054 nuclear tests between July 16, 1945, when the first test was conducted in New Mexico, and 1992, as well as two nuclear attacks on Japan during World War II.It is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in combat.The last US nuclear test explosion was in September 1992, with a 20-kiloton underground detonation at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site.Then-president George H.W. Bush imposed a moratorium on further tests in October 1992 that has been continued by successive administrations.Nuclear testing was replaced by non-nuclear and subcritical experiments using advanced computer simulations.Nevada congresswoman Dina Titus responded that she would introduce legislation to “put a stop” to any move at restoring live weapons testing in her state.burs-sms-dk/bgs

President Donald Trump has ignited a firestorm of controversy and confusion with his announcement that the United States will begin nuclear weapons testing.It’s unclear whether he was referring to testing weapons systems — which the United States already does — or actually conducting nuclear explosions, which only US arch-foe North Korea has carried out in the 21st century.Below, AFP examines what Trump has said, the state of current US testing, and what it would take to resume explosive tests.- What Trump said -Trump said in a social media post that he had instructed the Defense Department “to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis” with Russia and China.However, neither of those countries are confirmed to have carried out recent explosive testing, and it is the Department of Energy that is responsible for the US nuclear stockpile.The president subsequently told journalists on Air Force One that “they seem to all be doing nuclear testing,” and that “we halted it many years ago but with others doing testing I think it is appropriate we do also.”He offered no details on the nature of the testing he had ordered.- Current US testing -The United States conducted the world’s first nuclear test in July 1945 and used two nuclear weapons against Japan near the end of WWII.It has carried out more than 1,000 explosive nuclear tests in total — most recently in 1992 with a 20-kiloton underground detonation at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site.That year, Congress passed a temporary moratorium on underground nuclear tests unless a foreign state conducted one, which has since occurred. Washington had already agreed not to conduct tests in the atmosphere, outer space and underwater as part of the Limited Test Ban Treaty, which it has been a party to since 1963.The United States has also been a signatory since 1996 to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which bans all atomic test explosions, but the Senate has yet to ratify it.In the absence of explosive testing, the United States ensures its arsenal’s reliability through the so-called Stockpile Stewardship Program, which includes “a wide range of scientific activities, from modeling and simulation to subcritical nuclear experiments,” according to the US National Nuclear Security Administration.”This program allows us to assess and certify the stockpile with extraordinary confidence,” it says.Washington also periodically tests its nuclear delivery systems such as intercontinental ballistic missiles.The US military launched an unarmed Minuteman III missile earlier this year, with the Space Force saying at the time that the United States had carried out more than 300 similar tests overall.- Resuming explosive testing -The president has the authority to authorize explosive tests, and Washington’s forces have “the capability to resume testing within 24-36 months of a presidential decision to do so,” the US Congressional Research Service says.It notes that a 2012 study found that “the response time for resuming underground explosive testing is driven more by compliance with environmental, health, and safety regulations than by the technical testing requirements or the need to restore equipment and facilities.”Doreen Horschig, a fellow with the Project on Nuclear Issues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the US National Nuclear Security Administration would be able to “get the test site ready within six to 10 months for a very basic underground test.””The timeframe is much longer if you want to test new warheads and new capabilities,” Horschig said.But she also noted that there is likely to be political opposition to a resumption of testing “from both sides of the political camps” in the United States, while “our allies (also) do not see a need for (a) return to testing.”

G7 energy ministers meeting in Canada on Thursday planned to launch a new alliance to counter China’s critical mineral dominance, in a push for more reliable access to the resources that power advanced technologies.The two-day Group of Seven meeting in Toronto opened hours after US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping signed an extendable one-year deal on China’s supply of rare earths.Germany’s Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Katherina Reiche, told reporters the Trump-Xi deal marked “a good sign,” noting German reliance on Chinese critical mineral exports.But she stressed the agreement “can’t prevent us” from moving forward on broadening supply chains for the materials used in everything from solar panels and mobile phones to precision missiles.”We need diversification of our import routes on raw materials,” Reiche said.- Production alliance -With concern growing about China’s overwhelming dominance in rare earth refining and processing, G7 leaders announced a “Critical Minerals Action Plan” at a summit in western Canada in June.Canada’s Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said the Toronto meeting will aim to formally launch a new initiative designed to curb China’s market influence.The Critical Minerals Production Alliance will “secure transparent, democratic, and sustainable critical mineral supply chains across the G7,” he said.Under the alliance, the governments of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States would mobilize private investment to expand critical mineral production that bypasses China.The head of the critical minerals division at the International Energy Agency, Tae-Yoon Kim, told AFP the Toronto meeting offers “a major opportunity… to start shifting market power.””The high concentration of critical minerals refining in a single country creates economic and national security risks,” Kim said in an email ahead of the G7 talks.- Distorted markets -A central complaint about China’s conduct is that it does not adhere to market principles.Since a high proportion of material moves through Chinese-controlled businesses, Beijing can build stockpiles and control global supply.”For decades, we’ve been facing a competitor who has very consistently distorted free markets, used industrial subsidies, created overcapacity, and undermined fair trade,” said Abigail Hunter, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Critical Minerals Strategy.Hunter noted that within the G7 there are contrasting energy policy priorities.The Trump administration, in particular, is seen as less concerned about the transition to clean energy.G7 unity on critical minerals may also be undermined by Trump’s protectionist trade policies, which have caused global economic upheaval.But given G7 alignment on “security of supply,” Hunter said she saw space for cooperation.”I’m an optimist. I have to be, because this sector is very painful at times.” For her, progress at the Toronto meeting would include concrete action on the issue of traceability — tracking raw materials from mining to refinement and ensuring suppliers follow global market rules.Hunter said that “opaque” Chinese-controlled companies exist across the supply chain, which the G7 should strive to “box out of the market” with new policies on traceability and transparency.”I’m really interested to see what they do on that,” she said, adding that processing still includes a “spider web of entities” where Chinese officials maintain outsized control.”We have a short window of opportunity to fix this. The window is still open — it’s just very, very small,” Hunter said.

From a crippling trade conflict to the Ukraine war, here’s what Beijing and Washington say was achieved during Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s first face-to-face talks in six years:- Fentanyl, tariffs -The fentanyl trade has long been a sore point: Washington accuses Beijing of turning a blind eye to exports of chemicals used to make the drug, a charge China denies.Trump hit China with a 20-percent levy early this year over fentanyl, but said it would be reduced to 10 percent after Xi agreed at their Busan summit to “work very hard to stop the flow” of the powerful opioid, which has killed thousands of Americans.The reduction would bring average US tariffs on China to 47 percent.Washington would also suspend for a year steeper “reciprocal” tariffs that targeted China, Beijing’s commerce ministry said, ahead of a trade truce set to expire next month. China will make corresponding adjustments.- Hill of beans -Beijing has retaliated against the US tariffs with levies on American agricultural products, including soybeans, hurting a key source of Trump’s political support: farmers.More than half of US soybean exports went to China last year, but Beijing halted all orders as the trade dispute deepened.Trump said China had now agreed to purchase “tremendous” amounts of soybeans and other farm products.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business that China agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of the crop “during this season”.- Rare earths, ships -A strategic field dominated by China that is essential for manufacturing in defence, automobiles and consumer electronics, rare earths were expected to occupy a central role in the Busan talks.Beijing imposed sweeping export controls on the materials and related technology this month. Trump swiftly announced retaliatory tariffs of 100 percent on all Chinese goods, which he threatened would start this weekend.But the US leader insisted Thursday that “that whole situation, that roadblock is gone now”.China’s commerce ministry confirmed the rare earths restrictions had been suspended “for one year”.Washington in turn agreed to suspend for one year a move imposing “Entity List” export restrictions on affiliates of blacklisted foreign companies in which they had at least a 50 percent stake, a Chinese spokesperson said.The United States also agreed to halt for a year measures targeting China’s shipbuilding industry that led to both sides applying port fees against each other’s ships, they said.China would suspend its “countermeasures” after the US action, they added, for one year too.- Ukraine – Trump said the United States and China agreed to cooperate more on seeking an end to war in Ukraine.China says it is a neutral party, but Kyiv and Western governments have long accused Beijing of providing political and economic support to Moscow.Trump told reporters the subject came up “very strongly” during his talks with Xi.”He’s going to help us, and we’re going to work together on Ukraine,” Trump said.- Chips -Beijing has ramped up its chip industry to beat Washington’s export restrictions on the critical component used to power artificial intelligence systems.US chip giant Nvidia has been caught in the geopolitical tussle. Nvidia’s chips are currently not sold in China due to a combination of Beijing government bans, US national security concerns and ongoing trade tensions.Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has urged the United States to allow the sale of US-made AI chips in China to ensure Silicon Valley companies remain a global powerhouse in AI development.”We did discuss chips,” Trump said, adding that Huang would speak to Beijing about the dispute. “We’re sort of the arbitrator or the referee.”- TikTok -The talks failed to result in a final deal for TikTok’s US operations to be transferred to American ownership, despite Bessent saying beforehand that Xi and Trump may “consummate” an agreement in Busan.Washington has sought to wrest the popular social media app’s US operations from the hands of Chinese parent company ByteDance, citing national security concerns.aue-oho-mya-bys/des

President Donald Trump landed back in the United States Thursday after a surprise directive to begin nuclear weapons testing that raised the specter of renewed superpower tensions.The announcement on social media was issued right as Trump was going into a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea.And it came days after Russia declared it had tested a nuclear-capable cruise missile and a nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable sea drone.The blunt statement from Trump, who boasts frequently about being a “peace” president, left much unanswered.Chiefly, it was unclear whether he meant testing weapons systems or actually conducting test explosions — something the United States has not done since 1992.Regardless, the statement amounted to unusual nuclear sabre rattling.”Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump said on Truth Social.Trump also claimed that the United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country and that he had achieved this in his first term as president.None of that appeared to be true.The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says in its latest annual report that Russia possesses 5,489 nuclear warheads, compared to 5,177 for the United States and 600 for China. In his post, Trump said — minutes ahead of his Xi summit — said China was expected to “be even within 5 years.”- Russia pushes back -Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun urged the United States to “earnestly abide” by a global nuclear testing ban.The Kremlin questioned whether Trump was well-informed about Russia’s military activities.The recent weapons drills “cannot in any way be interpreted as a nuclear test,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. “We hope that the information was conveyed correctly to President Trump.”Peskov then implied that Russia would conduct its own live warhead tests if Trump did it first.”If someone departs from the moratorium, Russia will act accordingly,” Peskov said.Both countries observe a de facto moratorium on testing nuclear warheads, though Russia and the US do regularly run military drills involving nuclear-capable systems.The United States has been a signatory since 1996 to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which bans all atomic test explosions, whether for military or civilian purposes.Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that it had been “many years” since the United States had conducted nuclear tests, but it was “appropriate” to start again.Further muddying the waters, Trump also repeated in his remarks to reporters a previous claim that he wants negotiations on reducing nuclear weapons forces.”Denuclearization would be a tremendous thing,” he said. “It’s something we are actually talking to Russia about, and China would be added to that if we do something.”- Last US test in 1992 -The United States conducted 1,054 nuclear tests between July 16, 1945, when the first test was conducted in New Mexico, and 1992, as well as two nuclear attacks on Japan during World War II.It is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in combat.The last US nuclear test explosion was in September 1992, with a 20-kiloton underground detonation at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site.Then-president George H.W. Bush imposed a moratorium on further tests in October 1992 that has been continued by successive administrations.Nuclear testing was replaced by non-nuclear and subcritical experiments using advanced computer simulations.Nevada congresswoman Dina Titus responded that she would introduce legislation to “put a stop” to any move at restoring live weapons testing in her state.And Senator Jacky Rosen, also a Democrat, said on X that Trump’s statement “directly contradicts the commitments I secured from Trump nominees… who’ve told me explosive nuclear testing would not happen & is unnecessary.”burs-sms/bgs

A US guided-missile destroyer that docked for four days in Trinidad and Tobago, within firing range of mainland Venezuela — which called its presence a “provocation” — departed as scheduled on Thursday, AFP witnessed.The USS Gravely arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, deepening a diplomatic row with Caracas over US military activity in the Caribbean.During the warship’s stay in the two-island nation off Venezuela’s coast, a contingent of US Marines conducted joint training with local defense forces, part of a mounting military campaign by US President Donald Trump against drug-trafficking organizations in Latin America.US strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in international waters in the Caribbean and Pacific have killed at least 62 people in recent weeks.Trump’s administration says Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro is a drug lord, an accusation he denies, and has issued a $50 million reward for information leading to his capture.Trump has put the United States on a war footing in the Caribbean, raising speculation he will forcefully depose Venezuela’s leftist firebrand Nicolas Maduro.Venezuela claimed Monday to have dismantled a CIA-financed cell plotting a false-flag attack against the USS Gravely.The Pentagon has so far deployed seven warships to the Caribbean and one to the Gulf of Mexico, ostensibly for anti-drug operations.Experts say the attacks on alleged drug trafficking boats amount to extrajudicial killings, even if they target known traffickers.