President Donald Trump is signaling that the United States may soon escalate its campaign against alleged drug-trafficking networks tied to the Venezuelan government, telling U.S. service members during a Thanksgiving call that operations on land will begin “very soon.”
“In recent weeks, you’ve been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many,” Trump said. “People aren’t wanting to come in by sea anymore, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land also. The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon.”
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The remarks suggest the president may have settled on a new phase of action following high-level briefings and an expanded U.S. military presence in the region earlier this month.
Just days ago, Trump designated Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and several of his top allies as members of a foreign terrorist organization, known as the “Cartel de los Soles”—a term widely understood by experts as a label for allegedly corrupt state officials rather than a structured criminal cartel. The designation grants the administration legal authority to impose sweeping new sanctions targeting Maduro’s assets and infrastructure. It does not, however, explicitly authorize the use of lethal force, legal analysts note.
The United States has already deployed more than a dozen warships and roughly 15,000 troops to the Caribbean as part of “Operation Southern Spear,” the Pentagon’s intensive anti-drug-trafficking mission. U.S. forces have carried out deadly strikes on suspected drug-running vessels, killing more than 80 people since September.
Despite Trump’s comments, lawmakers were recently briefed in a classified session that the U.S. does not currently have legal justification to launch strikes inside Venezuela or against land-based targets, according to four sources familiar with the briefing. Officials emphasized that the administration’s controversial legal opinion allowing maritime strikes does not extend to land operations in Venezuela or in any foreign territory.
Still, officials did not rule out future action, leaving the possibility open depending on evolving conditions.
The administration has also avoided deep congressional involvement in its military campaign across Latin America. In November, a senior Justice Department official told lawmakers that the military could continue its lethal maritime operations without congressional approval, arguing the administration was not bound by decades-old war-powers frameworks often cited by critics.
For now, Trump’s latest remarks indicate a willingness to move closer than ever to direct military action on Venezuelan soil—an escalation that would dramatically reshape an already volatile standoff between Washington and Caracas
