WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Top U.S. military officials are meeting leaders of Caribbean nations this week as the Trump administration has escalated its firepower in the region as part of what it calls a campaign against drug trafficking.<\/p>\n
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and meet Wednesday with the country\u2019s top leaders, including President Luis Abinader, Minister of Defense Lt. Gen. Carlos Antonio Fern\u00e1ndez Onofre and other officials, the Pentagon said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Democratic senators ask Trump administration to provide legal basis for Venezuela strikes<\/a><\/p>\n The announcement came the same day that Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Donald Trump\u2019s primary military adviser, met with Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.<\/p>\n They \u201cexchanged views on challenges affecting the Caribbean region, including the destabilizing effects of illicit narcotics, arms, and human trafficking, and transnational criminal organization activities,\u201d according to a summary released by Caine\u2019s office.<\/p>\n The U.S. military has built up its largest presence in the region in generations and has been attacking alleged drug-smuggling boats since early September. To date, the military, under Hegseth\u2019s command, has carried out 21 known strikes on vessels accused of carrying drugs, killing at least 83 people.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Trump floats possible talks with Venezuela but leaves military action on the table<\/a><\/p>\n The actions are seen by many as a pressure tactic to get Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro to step down. The visits by Hegseth and Caine this week come as Trump evaluates whether to take military action against Venezuela, which he has not ruled out despite raising the possibility of talks with Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the U.S.<\/p>\n The Trump administration added extra pressure by officially designating the Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, as a foreign terrorist organization on Monday, although the entity that the U.S. government alleges is led by Maduro is not a cartel per se.<\/p>\n While a majority of Caribbean leaders have been muted in their response to the strikes on alleged drug boats, urging peace and dialogue, Persad-Bissessar has stood out for her public praise of the deadly attacks.<\/p>\n In early September, she said she had no sympathy for drug traffickers, adding that \u201cthe U.S. military should kill them all violently.\u201d Her remarks and support of the strikes have been condemned by some opposition leaders and regional officials.<\/p>\n