US president says strikes on land to observe US army assaults on suspected drug smuggling vessels within the Caribbean, Pacific Ocean.
President Donald Trump has mentioned United States attacks on alleged ‘narco-terrorists’ don’t want a declaration of battle, and whereas Congress might be briefed on operations, the current spate of bombings of vessels within the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean might be adopted by strikes on land.
“Nicely, I don’t suppose we’re going to essentially ask for a declaration of battle,” Trump instructed reporters on the White Home on Thursday.
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“I believe we’re simply going to kill folks which might be bringing medication into our nation. OK? We’re going to kill them,” Trump mentioned.
“Now they [drugs] are coming in by land … you understand, the land goes to be subsequent,” the US president added, echoing related threats he has made in current weeks to increase his administration’s assaults to the territories of nations Washington accuses of enabling drug cartels to smuggle narcotics to the US.
Up to now, the US military has carried out attacks on a minimum of 9 vessels within the Caribbean and Pacific since early September, killing at least 37 people in what Washington has branded a army operation towards “narco-terrorists” – with out offering any proof to assist its allegations of criminality.
Washington’s intensifying operation towards so-called Latin American drug cartels has seen the deployment of US naval ships, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and hundreds of troops to the Caribbean area.
The US has also escalated rhetoric towards the leaders of Venezuela and Colombia, accusing President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas and Gustavo Petro in Bogota of involvement in drug trafficking.
Venezuela has accused the US of launching its anti-cartel marketing campaign as a part of a plot to overthrow President Maduro, who mentioned on Wednesday that his armed forces have 5,000 Russian surface-to-air missiles to counter any US army intervention in his nation.
The AFP information company reported that a minimum of one US B-1B bomber flew over the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday, in response to flight monitoring information, the second such present of airpower by the US in per week.
Knowledge from monitoring web site Flightradar24 confirmed a B-1B bomber flying in the direction of the Venezuelan coast on Wednesday afternoon earlier than making a U-turn and heading north, after which it disappeared from view.
Requested throughout a White Home occasion concerning the reported B-1Bs close to Venezuela, Trump responded that “it’s false”, earlier than including that the US is “not pleased with Venezuela for lots of causes”.
Final week, US-based B-52 bombers circled off Venezuela’s coast for a number of hours, with the army describing the mission as an illustration of Washington’s dedication “to proactively deter adversary threats, improve crew coaching, and make sure the world drive readiness crucial to reply to any contingency or problem.”
Two U.S. Air Power B-1B “Lancer” Lengthy-Vary Heavy Bombers, (BART21) and (BART22), have appeared now on flight radar over the Southern Caribbean, roughly 50 miles off the coast of Venezuela. The bombers seem like conducting strike rehearsals, seemingly in preparation for future… pic.twitter.com/Uh0zU5y7bM
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 23, 2025
‘All worldwide regulation is damaged’
Trump additionally mentioned on Thursday that “it ought to now be clear to the complete world” that drug cartels – a number of of which the US has designated as “international terrorist organisations” – are the “ISIS [ISIL] of the Western Hemisphere”.
US Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth additionally drew comparisons between the US’s so-called “battle on terror” and Trump’s rising operations towards Latin American drug gangs.
“Simply as Al Qaeda waged battle on our homeland, these cartels are waging battle on our border and our folks,” Hegseth mentioned in a publish on social media on Wednesday, including, “There might be no refuge or forgiveness – solely justice.”
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum and Colombia’s president are amongst a refrain of voices criticising Washington’s assaults on vessels in worldwide waters – suspected of smuggling medication – as a violation of worldwide regulation.
“Clearly, we don’t agree. There are worldwide legal guidelines governing how operations should be carried out when going through alleged unlawful drug or weapons transportation in worldwide waters. Now we have made this clear to the federal government of america,” Sheinbaum mentioned on Thursday.
Colombia’s Petro, who has engaged in a public disagreement with Trump since being labelled a drug trafficker “thug” by the US president, mentioned on Thursday that the US was “finishing up extrajudicial executions” that “violate worldwide regulation”.
“Amnesty Worldwide opposes missile bombings within the Caribbean. All worldwide regulation is damaged within the Caribbean,” Petro mentioned in a publish on social media above a information report on Trump’s assaults on vessels within the Caribbean, and which has now expanded to the Pacific.
Amnistía Internacional se opone a los bombardeos con misiles en el Caribe. Se rompe en el Caribe todo el derecho internacional.https://t.co/gWRkSYZkBU
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 23, 2025
