In recent days, Trump has intensified his rhetoric about potential ground attacks inside Venezuela, while the US military constantly carries out attacks on alleged drug boats in international waters. However, experts warn that Venezuela is not a cocaine-producing country
President Donald Trump is considering plans to attack cocaine facilities and drug trafficking routes inside Venezuela, although he has not yet made a decision on whether to move forward with them, three US officials told CNN.
The president also has not ruled out the possibility of taking a diplomatic approach with Venezuela to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S., two sources said, even after the administration halted active talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in recent weeks. Venezuela is not known for being a major source of cocaine, but the Trump administration has aggressively tried to link Maduro to drug trafficking.
This Friday, all signs pointed to a potential, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordering the Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier strike group, currently stationed in Europe, at a time when there is a massive buildup of US forces in the region. Trump also authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
Overnight, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea.
The vessel was known by our…
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar)
A second official, who was directly involved in some of the discussions, argued that there are many proposals that have been suggested to the president. A third official said planning is happening across the government, but the focus at the highest levels is currently on attacking drug production in Venezuela.
In recent days, Trump has intensified his rhetoric about potential ground attacks inside Venezuela, while the US military constantly carries out attacks on alleged drug boats in international waters. The most recent was a nighttime attack on a boat allegedly trafficking drugs in the Caribbean, killing six people and bringing the total known number of boats targeted to 10 and the number of people killed to 43 since the US began its campaign last month, according to Hegseth.
CNN previously reported that Trump has also been mulling attacks inside Venezuela itself as part of a broader strategy aimed at weakening Maduro, and Trump himself has spoken publicly about operations on the ground. The president, however, has not yet made clear what this would entail, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has suggested that drug “routes” could be targeted.
Some government officials are pushing for regime change and say the anti-drug campaign could lead to Maduro’s ouster. This could happen by putting pressure on people who surround the Venezuelan leader and who benefit from the cartels’ illicit revenue streams, potentially squeezing them so much that they would consider ways to oust the Venezuelan leader, sources told CNN. A recently released video shows Maduro speaking in English, asking for peace.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Venezuela is not a cocaine-producing country.
Almost all coca plantations – the main ingredient in cocaine – are concentrated in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. An annual report from the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), published in March, does not mention Venezuela in the four pages devoted to cocaine trafficking, instead citing Ecuador, Central America and Mexico.
But administration officials still say some drug trafficking passes through Venezuela and say Maduro was indicted in 2020 on federal charges of narcoterrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine.
“Nicolás Maduro, is a drug trafficker indicted in the United States and is a fugitive from American justice,” Rubio said on a trip to Ecuador in September.
Trump administration officials have warned that the president is “in no rush” — as one source put it — to make a decision, given that his focus is currently on his trip to Asia and negotiations with Russia and Ukraine to end their war.
While officials have said Trump was open to finding a diplomatic solution, it is also true that the president earlier this month called off efforts to begin negotiations with Maduro and senior Venezuelan officials, efforts that had been led by Richard Grenell, a special presidential envoy.
U.S. officials also acknowledged that an aggressive operation against a target inside Venezuela would likely require congressional approval, or at least meetings with Congress, before the administration could move forward.
On Thursday, Trump told CNN that he could continue to launch attacks against alleged drug traffickers abroad without Congress first approving an official declaration of war. And although he said he would notify Congress of any operations on land, he assured that he would not face any resistance.
“I’m not necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war,” he said. “I think we’re just going to kill the people who are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them and they’re going to stay dead.”
The buildup of U.S. forces has also raised questions about the Trump administration’s intent in the region. Pentagon press secretary Sean Parnell said in a statement published on X that the deployment of the Gerald R. Ford strike group and its associated air wing was aimed at “dismantling Transnational Criminal Organizations and combating narcoterrorism.”
STATEMENT:
In support of the President’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland, the Secretary of War has directed the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and embarked carrier air wing to the U.S.…
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW)
The aircraft carrier Ford docked near the port of Split, Croatia, on October 21. This would leave the aircraft carrier and accompanying ships more than 5,000 miles from the Caribbean, meaning it would take days for the group to be in a position to launch any attacks.
Even before the arrival of the Ford, a significant percentage of all US naval assets deployed worldwide had been transferred to the United States Southern Command, the US military command responsible for operations in the region, according to a fleet registry published by the United States Naval Institute news portal.
These include the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, totaling more than 4,500 Marines and sailors, three guided missile destroyers, an attack submarine, a special operations ship, a guided missile cruiser and P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft.
At the same time, the US sent 10 F-35 fighters to Puerto Rico, which became a hub for the US armed forces, as part of the growing attention given to the Caribbean. The US also sent at least three MQ-9 reaper drones to the island, according to images captured by Reuters in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
The Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico, a US military installation that had been closed since 2004, is also now operating, according to satellite images and photographs taken at the base.
