Trump reportedly weighing military strikes against Venezuelan drug cartels

 

President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing several military options aimed at striking drug cartels operating in Venezuela, a move that could escalate tensions with President Nicolás Maduro’s government.

According to CNN, sources familiar with the administration’s discussions say Trump is considering targeting cartel-linked sites in Venezuela as part of a broader strategy to weaken Maduro’s hold on power. While Trump denied talk of “regime change,” his comments and recent actions suggest a more aggressive U.S. posture in the region.

This comes after a controversial Navy operation against a vessel Trump claimed was carrying 11 drug smugglers. The strike destroyed the ship and killed everyone on board—marking a major departure from standard U.S. interdiction practices, which usually involve seizing vessels and arresting suspects. Trump defended the decision, arguing it would deter future smugglers from attempting to transport narcotics into the U.S.:

“There were massive amounts of drugs coming into our country to kill a lot of people… Obviously, they won’t be doing it again.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have both echoed Trump’s tougher stance. Rubio insisted that “blowing them up” is the only way to stop cartels after decades of failed interdiction efforts. Hegseth went further, accusing Nicolás Maduro of acting as a “kingpin of a narco-state,” and said U.S. officials “knew exactly who was in that boat.”

Still, the administration has not released evidence linking the destroyed vessel to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang. Caracas has downplayed the group’s influence and dismissed the U.S.-released footage of the strike as “cartoonish” and possibly AI-generated. In response, Hegseth insisted the attack was real and said he watched live video feeds from Washington.

Trump’s willingness to consider direct strikes inside Venezuela raises major questions about international law, sovereignty, and the risk of military escalation. Supporters argue the approach signals strength against drug traffickers, while critics warn it could destabilize an already fragile region.