The United States’ designation of Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations is just one of the measures taken by both countries to secure the border: Mexico deployed more than 10,000 military personnel, while the Donald Trump administration opted to deploy warships.
The USS Spruance and the USS Gravely are both designed to monitor and track the new techniques used by Mexican cartels to send their drug shipments to the United States, according to General Gregory Guilliot during a House Armed Forces hearing.
The USS Gravely was deployed to the Gulf of Mexico on March 15, according to the Pentagon. President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that her administration had received notification and that the guided-missile warship would be stationed in international waters.
Its mission will be to intercept drug shipments entering the United States along the East Coast and reduce migration. They highlight its functions for military combat, the fight against terrorism, and safeguarding national security, as announced by the Donald Trump administration.
The USS Gravely has a crew capacity of 329: 32 officers, 27 warrant officers, and 270 marines. Its armament includes a standard missile (SM-2MR), ASROC and Tomahawk vertical-launch missiles, as well as six MK-46 torpedoes, a close-in weapon system, an MK-45 cannon, and a Sea Sparrow missile.
US deploys second destroyer to the border with Mexico
As part of measures to strengthen security on the southern border, the United States government announced the deployment of the warship USS Spruance to conduct counter-drug trafficking operations in Caribbean waters.
Both ships belong to the Arleigh Burke class, and their incorporation into the counter-drug trafficking strategy “provides additional capacity and expands the unique military capabilities that work with the Department of Homeland Security,” Northern Command noted in a press release.
The Gravely entered service in 2009 and became the 57th destroyer in its class; while the Spruance began service in 2011 and is the 61st.
Although the use of ships in counter-drug trafficking operations is not unusual, it was surprising that both were deployed on the Mexican border, which marked Trump’s anti-drug policy ahead of the start of his second administration as president of the United States.
Source: infobae
