After spending more than a month in international waters in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States Navy’s guided-missile destroyer docked in the port of Veracruz on Friday, April 25.
The ship is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Gravely, which departed the Virginia Naval Weapons Station on March 15 for international waters.
What is the destroyer USS Gravely doing in Mexico?
So far, Mexican federal authorities have not reported on the ship’s arrival in the port of Veracruz. However, local media report that the naval personnel were received by members of the Navy.
Meanwhile, US authorities indicated that the USS Gravely was sent to contribute to the southern border mission (United States-Mexico) in response to the executive order signed by President Donald Trump regarding immigration to that country.
“Gravely’s seaworthiness enhances our ability to protect the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and security of the United States (…) by contributing to a coordinated and decisive response to combat maritime terrorism, arms proliferation, transnational crime, piracy, environmental destruction, and illegal migration at sea,” Gregory Guillot, Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, reported last month.
Later, on Monday, March 17, the U.S. Department of Defense explained that the destroyer’s mission is to interdict drugs entering U.S. territory in coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard.
Regarding its armament, the destroyer is equipped with a standard-duty missile (SM-2MR), ASROC vertical-launched missiles (VLA); a Tomahawk, six MK-46 torpedoes (from two triple-tube mounts); a close-in weapon system, a 5-inch MK-45 cannon, and a Sea Sparrow missile. It also has the capacity to accommodate a crew of up to 312 officers and ratings.
What did Claudia Sheinbaum say about the destroyer’s deployment in the Gulf of Mexico?
The news about the deployment of the USS Gravely destroyer raised multiple questions, some of which were answered by President Claudia Sheinbaum.
The president affirmed that the mission of the US Navy destroyer is to monitor international waters where drug shipments could arrive.
“They are in their territory and in international waters. They let us know before the news and the ship broke, but they are not in national territory; they are subject to international navigation regulations,” said President Claudia Sheinbaum on March 18.
At the same time, the president noted that the United States “has the authority” to send the missile-equipped warship to international waters, and that it has even participated in missions against rebels in Yemen.
Source: elfinanciero
