NEW YORK/ISTANBUL
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 Saturday.
The newspaper said the standoff between US President Donald Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has fueled 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 organized by the Venezuelan government.