US President Donald Trump has announced a major escalation in America’s campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America, signalling that land strikes will begin soon. Speaking at the White House on Friday,
December 12, Trump said operations that have so far focused on the sea would now move onshore.
“We’ll start that on land too. It’s going to be starting on land pretty soon,” he told reporters, without giving details on locations or timing.
Since September, the US military has carried out 21 naval strikes against what it described as drug-smuggling boats in international waters off South America. According to Trump, these actions killed 83 people and sharply reduced the flow of drugs by sea.
“We knocked out 96 per cent of the drugs coming in by water,” Trump said. “Now we’re starting by land, and by land is a lot easier.”
The Pentagon has not released further operational details, and the White House has declined to say whether any countries could still avoid being targeted.
Trump again warned that Venezuela could face ground operations, but stressed that the campaign would not be limited to one country. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be in Venezuela,” he said. “People that are bringing in drugs to our country are targets.”
The comments come amid growing US pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Earlier this week, American authorities seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, adding to tensions between the two countries.
Alongside the military warnings, the US Treasury Department announced fresh sanctions aimed at vessels and shipping companies linked to Venezuela’s oil sector. It also imposed sanctions on three nephews of Maduro’s wife, accusing them of involvement in drug trafficking.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the measures were designed to cut funding to what he called Maduro’s “corrupt narco-terrorist regime”. He accused the Venezuelan leadership of flooding the United States with drugs that are “poisoning the American people”.
Asked whether the campaign was about drugs or oil, Trump said maritime drug trafficking had fallen by more than 90 per cent. However, the pressure on Venezuela also reflects wider political and economic goals, including control over oil exports and efforts to weaken Maduro’s government.
Trump has framed the fight against drug smuggling as a form of war. He said that if overdose deaths were counted like battlefield casualties, the toll would be “unparalleled”.
