“Another intent, obviously, could be to signal to the region that we have these capabilities and we are ready to act in a serious way,” said Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow and director of military analysis at the Defense Priorities think tank. “This is not just a deployment for show, these are not just threats of force. We are ready to use combat capabilities and combat strategies in the theater.”
[. . .]
Kavanagh said that the military response in the region is overblown.
“Cartels are powerful. Military groups in Latin America have military capabilities, but are not military capabilities that can strike U.S. airbases in the region, so it seems like a little bit of overkill,” she said. “The force the United States has used so far in Latin America has been disproportionate to the threat.”
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