Trump's anti-drug warship USS Kidd badly hit by coronavirus, forced to seek help from 'another nation'
Earlier in April, President Donald Trump came up with a bolstered counter-narcotics mission to prevent drug cartels from taking undue advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to threaten the lives of American people. But to the shock of the Trump administration, the warship that carried out the president’s anti-drug mission has itself been hit by the disease and the situation has been so serious that another country had to step in for its rescue.
With the outbreak on board, the USS Kidd became another deployed vessel like the USS Theodore Roosevelt to be temporarily sidelined by the outbreak on board.
The Navy announced on Friday, April 24, that a sailor aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer tested positive for coronavirus “after being medically evacuated to the United States from operations at sea”. A senior official in the Pentagon told Newsweek that the affected member was deboarded with help of a partner nation in Central America. The Navy also confirmed that the official number of confirmed coronavirus cases on the vessel was 18.
The Pentagon official though said the number could be closer to 30. The USS Kidd was forced to return from the Eastern Pacific, though the Navy did not reveal its exact destination.
Earlier this month, Trump linked the ship’s anti-drug mission to the coronavirus pandemic and said in a news conference, “We must not let the drug cartels exploit the pandemic to threaten American lives.” He was backed by a senior official of his administration who said narcotics trade could see the virus spreading among people over a vast geography.
Ship's anti-drug mission was more about pressurizing Venezuela than fighting COVID-19
However, there were also critical voices in the Trump administration that said the mission had been developed long ago to put pressure on the embattled president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and had no link with preventing the spread of COVID-19. The US has been piling up pressure on Maduro and has backed his domestic opponent Juan Guaido as the country’s leader.
While Washington has put more economic and political pressure on Venezuela and Cuba, the two countries have denied accusations that they are moving drugs in the region. Maduro has counter accused the US of trying to divert attention from the crisis caused by the pandemic at home. Over 51,000 people have died from the virus in the US so far -- the highest national toll across the world.
The outbreak of the disease aboard some of the US’ frontline warships has also put Washington’s military readiness under question. At least 26 other ships have reported cases of coronavirus among their crews, The Hill reported on Thursday, April 23, though all those ships have been docked. The Navy though has asserted that it is still capable of carrying out its duty across the world.
A massive controversy broke out over the outbreak of the disease in Roosevelt recently as its captain Brett Crozier was removed after he wrote to various quarters seeking help for the affected soldiers on board. Crozier, who himself tested positive, drew the authorities’ ire after his letter got leaked and he lost his position, although, he was backed by the sailors’ community.
Officials said on the condition of anonymity that the Navy on Friday recommended Defense Secretary Mark Esper to reinstate Crozier as the captain of the prestigious warship, Reuters reported.