TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Between the boat strikes, and President Donald Trump threatening land action against alleged drug trafficking Venezuelans, Operation Latin Shield with Grey Bull Rescue has commenced.
“There’s between 20,000 to 30,000 American citizens in Venezuela,” said Bryan Stern, the founder of Grey Bull Rescue. “If kinetic strikes happen on land, which are highly likely at this point, Americans will be hard at risk.”
Stern said there is nothing safe about their operation, but they’re ready to step in to rescue and evacuate Americans who could be in harm’s way.
“I don’t really care, frankly, about the politics. I don’t care about the who’s, the why’s, and all that nonsense. I don’t care. What I care is, is that Americans are stuck in that, probably we’re not going to put U.S. troops on the ground in Venezuela to go get them,” Stern said.
When a person reaches out to them, Stern said they will look at the circumstances and try to conduct their rescue.
The United States is not officially at war with Venezuela. The Trump administration Monday confirmed a Navy Admiral ordered a September 2 air strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.
“This administration has designated these narco-terrorists as foreign terrorist organizations. The president has a right to take them out if they are threatening the United States of America and if they are bringing illegal narcotics that are killing our citizens at a record rate, which is what they are doing,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Kathalin Carvalho is Venezuelan, and lives in Tampa. She said it is a relief to see some action taken.
“I think Venezuelans, we had enough. I mean, we have been voting. We did, we exhausted every legit way, right, to recover our sovereignty,” Carvalho said. “I think is going to be so beneficial for all Venezuela and for the world, because this is just like a cancer, right? We have to stop this from spreading.”
For more on Grey Bull Rescue, click here.
The Pinellas Democratic Socialists of America sent a statement condemning all U.S. military aggression against Venezuela and Latin America:
“Pinellas DSA strongly condemns all U.S. military aggression against Venezuela and Latin
America. It is clear to us that The Trump Administration is currently engaging in unwarranted
hostility to intimidate Venezuela, force regime change, and gain control of their vast oil reserves,
which are the largest in the world. Since early September, over 80 people have been killed in bombings in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The Trump Administration’s legal justification for these killings has been the unfounded claim that Venezuela is producing “narco-terrorists,” a claim that is disputed by the findings of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Union. We have been saying since the beginning that these strikes are illegal, and now legal experts and members of Congress are joining the growing number of Americans who are questioning The Trump Administration’s motives. Legal experts are undoubtedly correct when they allege that Pete Hegseth committed a war crime when he ordered a second strike on a boat that posed no threat. Pinellas DSA supports and encourages the call for a full investigation into this particular strike, but also an end to all military deployments and strikes in the region.
In full, The Pinellas Democratic Socialists of America demands a total withdrawal of all U.S.
military assets from the Caribbean, an end to illegal unilateral sanctions that harm civilians and
violate international law, an end to bounty systems and criminalization of foreign leaders as
pretexts for regime change, an end to the failed “war on drugs” framework that has devastated
Colombia and other countries, restoration of diplomatic relations with Venezuela, including
reopening embassies and consulates, and a foreign policy rooted in peace, multilateralism, and
respect for sovereignty. Military deployments into the Caribbean and Latin America pose a
threat to the entire region, putting millions of lives at risk. Some of the loudest voices calling for regime change in Venezuela are coming from our state, from the likes of Maria Salazar and Marco Rubio, who are claiming that Maduro is the leader of the “Cartel del Soles”, which wasn’t included in the DEA’s annual report on drug smuggling, because this group doesn’t exist. We have seen what these kinds of disinformation campaigns have led to in the cases of Guatemala in 1954, Grenada in 1983, Iraq in 2003, and Libya in 2011, and we cannot stand by and let it happen again. We know that the people of Venezuela are not our enemy, and we remain committed to rejecting these narratives and standing in solidarity with the Venezuelan people.”