US, Venezuela jam GPS signals in Caribbean amid escalating tensions
On December 10, US forces seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, which it said was involved in carrying 'sanctioned oil' to Iran.
The US and Venezuela have been jamming satellite navigation signals in parts of the Caribbean as tensions between the two countries escalate, potentially increasing risks to civilian air and maritime traffic, The New York Times reported.
The newspaper said on Saturday that the standoff between US President Donald Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has fuelled an increase in electronic warfare across the region.
Some US warships deployed to the Caribbean in recent months have been jamming GPS signals in their vicinity, the newspaper said, citing a US official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, and an analysis of data provided by Stanford University.
Separately, satellite data firm Spire Global found that Venezuela’s armed forces have blocked positioning signals around critical infrastructure, including military bases, oil refineries and power plants, in response to what Caracas views as mounting US military pressure.
The use of similar tactics by both sides has amplified the range and intensity of the jamming, according to Logan Scott, a radio frequency expert who helped build the world’s first digital GPS receivers in the 1980s.
The report underlined that the military actions have disrupted GPS signals used by civilian transportation.
The increase in GPS interference represents “one of the starkest examples of the regional effect” of Trump’s pressure campaign against Maduro, said the daily.
The Trump administration has said US naval deployments, including the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, are aimed at countering drug trafficking operations it alleges are organised by the Venezuelan government.
Meanwhile, the United States has stopped and boarded an oil tanker off Venezuela, the latest salvo in a pressure campaign against Caracas.
It was the second time in two weeks that US forces had interdicted such a vessel, and came days after Trump announced a blockade of "sanctioned oil vessels" heading to and leaving Venezuela.
The New York Times, citing an unnamed US official and two individuals within Venezuela's oil industry, reported that the vessel was a Panamanian-flagged tanker carrying Venezuelan oil that had recently departed Venezuela and was in Caribbean waters.