The Trump administration escalated pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro‘s regime Thursday night when it killed three suspected drug traffickers in its 17th strike on a “narco-terrorist” vessel in the Caribbean Sea.
In August, the Trump administration accused Maduro of being a “narco-terrorist,” offering a $50 million bounty for information leading to his arrest. On Sept. 2, the United States began its air campaign against drug boats in the Caribbean Sea, one that has killed over 70 people. The strikes are widely interpreted as an unsubtle threat to the Maduro regime, showing that Washington is fully willing and ready to use lethal force against the Venezuelan government.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the latest strike late on Thursday, saying it came at the direct order of President Donald Trump. He said the vessel was being operated by a designated terrorist organization, though he did not disclose which.
“The vessel was trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean and was struck in international waters,” Hegseth said in a post on X alongside a declassified video of the strike. “No U.S. forces were harmed in the strike, and three male narco-terrorists — who were aboard the vessel — were killed.”
“To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you keep trafficking deadly drugs—we will kill you,” he said, vowing that strikes would continue until “the poisoning of the American people stops.”
The strikes against drug boats in the Caribbean have come alongside the largest buildup of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since the 1990s. The logistical effort required to maintain the buildup has fed speculation that Trump could be gearing up for massive strikes against Venezuela, intended to cripple the Maduro regime and force him out. With the recent relocation of the USS Gerald R. Ford to the region, the Navy now has roughly 10% of its total assets located in the Southern Command area of responsibility, which includes Latin America and the Caribbean.
The U.S. now has roughly 10,000 troops, along with fighter jets, Navy ships, and Reaper drones positioned north of Venezuela. It has begun conducting simulated bombing runs against Venezuela using heavy B-52 and B-1 bombers.
Trump and administration officials have even gone so far as to deliver unsubtle threats against the life of Maduro himself.
“I would say yeah,” Trump responded when asked in a recent 60 Minutes interview if Maduro’s days were numbered. “I think so, yeah.”
He declined to reveal if the U.S. had plans to strike Venezuela directly.
MADURO’S ‘DAYS ARE NUMBERED,’ TRUMP SAYS AS HE DODGES ON LAND STRIKES
“I don’t tell you that,” Trump said. “I mean — I’m not saying it’s true or untrue. I’m not going to tell you what I’m going to do with Venezuela, if I was going to do it or if I wasn’t going to do it.”
U.S. officials explained the Trump administration’s strategy to the Wall Street Journal, saying that the increasing pressure could push some within Venezuela’s security elite to turn against Maduro and force him out of power before any military intervention is needed.
