Trump says US will ‘very soon’ target Venezuelan drug traffickers on land

The US will “very soon” begin targeting suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers on land, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday (local time), signalling a new phase in Washington’s counter-narcotics operations.

“You probably noticed that people aren’t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land also. The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon,” Trump said during a virtual Thanksgiving call with American service members.

Addressing the troops, Trump suggested the United States is preparing additional action against alleged Venezuelan trafficking networks. “In recent weeks, you’ve been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many. Of course, there aren’t too many coming in by sea anymore,” he said. “You probably noticed that people aren’t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land also. The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon. We warn them: Stop sending poison to our country.”

Trump’s comments indicate he has settled on a course of action in Venezuela after a series of high-level briefings and an expanded US military presence in the region earlier this month. This week, he designated Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and key allies as members of a foreign terrorist organization. The designation of the “Cartel de los Soles”—a term experts say is more a label for allegedly corrupt officials than an organized criminal group—allows Washington to impose fresh sanctions on Maduro’s assets and infrastructure, though legal experts note it does not explicitly authorize the use of lethal force.

The US military has already deployed more than a dozen warships and around 15,000 troops under “Operation Southern Spear.” As part of its anti-drug-trafficking push, US forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific since September, killing at least 83 people. The Pentagon says more than 80 people have died in these boat strikes so far.

The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Maduro has repeatedly denied any involvement in drug trafficking.

Despite the scale of the US buildup, CNN reported that administration officials told lawmakers in a classified briefing that Washington was not planning strikes inside Venezuela and currently lacks a legal basis for any land-based attacks.

According to the report, lawmakers were informed that a Justice Department legal opinion authorizing strikes on suspected drug boats does not extend to operations inside Venezuela or any other territory.

Officials did not rule out potential future actions, one source said to CNN.

Meanwhile, the administration has largely sidestepped Congress in its expanding military campaign in Latin America.

A senior Justice Department official told lawmakers in November that the US military could continue lethal strikes on suspected traffickers without congressional approval, arguing the administration is not bound by decades-old war powers legislation governing the authorization of military action.