President Donald Trump said Thursday that US operations to curb Venezuelan drug trafficking overland will begin “very soon.” His remarks come as tensions with Caracas rise and Washington has increased its military presence in the Caribbean, which US officials say is intended to halt transnational crime and drug smuggling.
Venezuela sees the buildup and the anti-narcotics campaign as a covert effort to remove leftist leader Nicolás Maduro. The US government has characterized Maduro as illegitimate and has accused him of involvement in drug trafficking — charges Maduro denies. His re-election last year was widely rejected by the international community as fraudulent.
Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida during a Thanksgiving video call with US service members, Trump said the military campaign had sharply reduced drugs entering by sea. He said maritime trafficking is down about 85% and added that efforts to stop flows by land, which he described as easier, would begin very soon. Several of the units he addressed are involved in the anti-drug initiative known as “Southern Spear.”
US forces have struck a number of vessels in international waters in the Caribbean and the Pacific, actions Washington says were aimed at interdiction of illegal narcotics. The US has not publicly released evidence supporting those specific smuggling claims. Independent tallies by the AFP news agency indicate at least 83 people have been killed in the strikes.
Observers note that the assembled US military force, which has included an aircraft carrier strike group, exceeds what would typically be required for conventional anti-drug-smuggling operations, adding to regional concern about the broader aims and potential risks of the campaign.