WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is reportedly drafting plans to strike drug traffickers inside Venezuela, potentially in weeks, marking a major escalation from targeting the cartel in boats in the southern Caribbean.
President Trump has yet to approve any of the attack plans, but the move comes in response to concerns that Venezuela strongman President Nicolas Maduro, has failed to stem the flow of drugs from his country into the US and elsewhere, NBC News reported.
Initial plans include the use of drones to strike leadership and members of drug trafficking cartels as well as labs, according to the report, which cited four sources familiar with the plans.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said earlier this month when asked about whether he would support strikes inside the South American Country. “Venezuela is sending us their gang members, their drug dealers and drugs. It’s not acceptable.”
The Post reached out to both the White House and Pentagon for comment.
Trump has announced at least three strikes against alleged Venezuelan drug boats since Sept. 2, killing at least 17 people.
While the administration hasn’t presented clear evidence to the public that those vessels were carrying drugs, an official in the nearby Dominican Republic claimed at a press conference that there were drugs detected in the water near one of the boats after a strike.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump had pledged to crack down on the flow of illicit drugs into the US.
Last month, the US government rolled out a $50 million bounty for information leading to the arrest of Maduro.
Privately, Maduro has told intermediaries that he would be willing to make some concessions to the US government to stop the attacks, according to the report.
Maduro has repeatedly denied playing a role in drug trafficking operations in his country.
Since the attacks earlier this month, the US has moved at least eight ships to the region and dispatched multiple F-35 fighter jets, the Pentagon said.
Still, the US continues to coordinate with Venezuela on deportation issues.
Venezuela, once an oil-rich country that is now mired in poverty, is subject to heavy sanctions from the US government.
Several weeks ago, Maduro inked a letter to Trump encouraging him to pursue dialogue. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the missive.
“Frankly, I think there were a lot of lies that were repeated by Maduro in that letter, and the administration’s position on Venezuela has not changed,” Leavitt told reporters on Monday.
“We view the Maduro regime as illegitimate, and the president has clearly shown that he’s willing to use any and all means necessary to stop the illegal trafficking of deadly drugs from the Venezuelan regime into the United States of America.”
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