Donald Trump has told military personnel he will escalate operations against alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers “very soon,” as tensions between the two nations continue to grow.
During a Thanksgiving phone call with Army servicemen and women, the president went further and suggested the U.S. would take action “on land” as well as sea.
The United States has killed more than 80 people in military strikes on the alleged drug boats, as part of Operation Southern Spear, with the actions branded “imperialist” by Venezuelan officials.
“In recent weeks, you’ve been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many,” Trump said on the call. “Of course, there aren’t too many coming in by sea anymore.
“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.”
The exact measures Trump plans to use against alleged drug smugglers on land are not clear.
However, there has been a massive build-up of the United States’ military presence in the Caribbean in recent weeks.
The U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford, the most advanced aircraft carrier in the U.S. military, arrived in the Caribbean Sea last week, with the U.S.S. Winston Churchill, a destroyer-class vessel, also conducting exercises in the area.
General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Trump’s primary military adviser, also visited Puerto Rico, heightening fears of American military action against Venezuela.
Delcy Rodriguez, the Venezuelan vice-president, has accused the military build-up of being part of an effort to seize the country’s oil and gas reserves.
“For nothing, without paying. They want Venezuela’s gold,” she said. “They want Venezuela’s diamonds, iron, bauxite. They want Venezuela’s natural resources.”
President Nicolás Maduro, who led a crackdown against his opponents after refusing to concede the 2024 Venezuelan election, has also vowed to fight any “imperialist threat or aggression.”
In a speech commemorating the 200th anniversary of the presentation of the Sword of Peru to independence fighter Simón Bolívar, he brandished the historical weapon to cheers from supporters.
“We must be ready to defend every inch of this blessed land from imperialist threat or aggression, no matter where it comes from,” he said. “The homeland is sacred, the homeland must be respected.”
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