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 stated United States attacks on alleged ‘narco-terrorists’ don’t want a declaration of warfare, and whereas Congress will probably be briefed on operations, the current spate of bombings of vessels within the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean will probably be adopted by strikes on land.
“Nicely, I don’t assume we’re going to essentially ask for a declaration of warfare,” Trump advised reporters on the White Home on Thursday.
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“I believe we’re simply going to kill folks which are bringing medication into our nation. OK? We’re going to kill them,” Trump stated.
“Now they [drugs] are coming in by land … you already know, the land goes to be subsequent,” the US president added, echoing comparable 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 no less than 9 vessels within the Caribbean and Pacific since early September, killing at least 37 people in what Washington has branded a army operation in opposition to “narco-terrorists” – with out offering any proof to help its allegations of criminality.
Washington’s intensifying operation in opposition to so-called Latin American drug cartels has seen the deployment of US naval ships, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and 1000’s of troops to the Caribbean area.
The US has also escalated rhetoric in opposition to 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 stated 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 no less than one US B-1B bomber flew over the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday, based on flight monitoring knowledge, the second such present of airpower by the US in every week.
Knowledge from monitoring web site Flightradar24 confirmed a B-1B bomber flying in 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 in regards to 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 pressure readiness vital to reply to any contingency or problem.”
Two U.S. Air Pressure 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, probably in preparation for future… pic.twitter.com/Uh0zU5y7bM
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 23, 2025
‘All worldwide regulation is damaged’
Trump additionally stated on Thursday that “it ought to now be clear to your entire world” that drug cartels – a number of of which the US has designated as “overseas terrorist organisations” – are the “ISIS [ISIL] of the Western Hemisphere”.
US Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth additionally drew comparisons between the US’s so-called “warfare on terror” and Trump’s rising operations in opposition to Latin American drug gangs.
“Simply as Al Qaeda waged warfare on our homeland, these cartels are waging warfare on our border and our folks,” Hegseth stated in a publish on social media on Wednesday, including, “There will probably 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. We’ve got made this clear to the federal government of america,” Sheinbaum stated on Thursday.
Colombia’s Petro, who has engaged in a public confrontation with Trump since being labelled a drug trafficker “thug” by the US president, stated 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 stated 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
