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Navy Ship Sent to Venezuela by Trump Admin Is Hit With Coronavirus Outbreak

At least a dozen sailors have contracted coronavirus aboard the USS Kidd, which was deployed to the Caribbean on a counter-narcotics mission.

A U.S. Navy destroyer deployed to the Caribbean to fight drug cartels and Venezuela’s regime has been hobbled by a significant outbreak of coronavirus cases, Reuters reports. More than a dozen sailors on the USS Kidd have tested positive, out of a few hundreds sailors on board, officials told the news service. It is reportedly the first outbreak on a Navy ship currently on a mission. The USS Theodore Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier, docked in Guam to deal with its highly publicized outbreak of COVID-19 cases. At least 850 of the 4,800 personnel on board have tested positive and the outbreak spiraled into a political crisis when the ship’s captain, Brett Crozier, was fired for raising the alarm.

The Trump administration sent several Navy warships and aircraft, including the USS Kidd, to the Caribbean to disrupt the narcotics trade and prevent “corrupt actors” like Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to smuggle more drugs.