President Donald Trump has warned that any country he believes is producing drugs destined illegally for the United States is vulnerable to military attack. Speaking at a White House press conference on Tuesday, he signalled that land strikes in Venezuela would begin 'very soon'.
Trump's remarks followed a lengthy cabinet meeting where he and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth shifted responsibility onto a navy admiral for the extrajudicial killing of two survivors of an attack on an alleged drug smuggling boat in September. The incident is under investigation by congressional armed services committees.
When asked whether only Venezuela was in the Pentagon's sights, Trump said: 'If they come in through a certain country, or any country, or if we think they’re building mills, whether its fentanyl or cocaine … anybody doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack. Not just Venezuela.' He added that he had 'heard' Colombia was 'making cocaine, they have cocaine plants'.
Trump's comments echo previous saber-rattling directed at Mexico, and he confirmed that military action inside Venezuela was imminent, escalating a conflict that began with targeted attacks on vessels his administration identified as drug traffickers. 'We’re going to start doing those strikes on land, too,' he said, claiming land targets were 'much easier' and that authorities knew the routes, routes, and locations of those involved.
During the cabinet meeting, Hegseth gave a conflicting account of his actions following the 2 September double strike on the alleged drug boat. He told the meeting he 'watched that first strike' but did not 'stick around for the hour or two hours' after, during which two survivors were killed in a second strike. This contradicts his earlier statement to Fox News that he had watched the operation in real time.
Admiral Frank M 'Mitch' Bradley, who ordered the second strike, is scheduled to brief members of the congressional committees on Thursday.
