President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he is intensifying the administration’s efforts against international drug cartels, notifying Congress about potential ground-based operations. Speaking at the White House, Trump made clear the aggressive nature of the new policy.
“I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country,” he said.
The president indicated that while current efforts have targeted vessels at sea—including the destruction of nine suspected drug vessels and the killing of approximately 37 people—the fight is now expected to move to land.
Trump stated his team has the legal authority to destroy suspected vessels at sea without a formal war declaration, but he would inform Congress about any ground incursions. U.S. forces have recently conducted strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, with some targets operating near Venezuelan shores and tied to what officials call narco-terrorist networks.
READ: Deadly Shift: US Military Strikes Drug Vessel In Pacific, Hegseth Equates Cartels To ‘Al Qaeda’
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth defended the recent repatriation of two alleged drug traffickers who survived a U.S. military strike, saying the decision aligns with battlefield practices from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
The escalating threat drew a sharp response from Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, whom the U.S. government accuses of running drug-trafficking operations.
Maduro warned that any U.S. incursion would be met with a “general insurrectional strike” and a nationwide backlash. Trump first hinted at potential land strikes on October 15, citing the flow of drugs from Venezuela.
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