WASHINGTON, Nov. 28– U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that the United States could “very soon” take actions targeting drug trafficking networks in Venezuela by land.
In Thanksgiving remarks to U.S. troops, Trump thanked the Air Force’s 7th Bomb Wing for their work to “deter Venezuelan drug traffickers” and said “it’s about 85 percent stopped 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,” Trump added, speaking from his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump also said that he could still hold talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, suggesting a possible diplomatic off-ramp, even as the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean has reached its largest scale in more than three decades.
Since early September, the Pentagon has carried out more than 20 known strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and East Pacific, killing more than 80 people abroad.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, a major aircraft carrier, arrived in the Caribbean earlier this month, intensifying U.S. military presence in the region that has not been seen for at least three decades.
The Trump administration also designated the Cartel de los Soles, a group Washington alleges is run by Maduro, as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this month.
The Venezuelan government said the organization was “nonexistent” and called the U.S. move a “vile lie.”
Maduro has also denied having any ties to the drug trade, accusing the United States of “fabricating” a war aimed at regime change in his country. (Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
