President Donald Trump has announced that the United States may expand military operations against alleged drug traffickers from Venezuela to include land strikes, potentially without congressional approval. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Trump said, “The land is going to be next,” and suggested he might inform Congress but doubted they would object.
The administration has already conducted nine strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing at least 37 people. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth justified the attacks by labeling the alleged traffickers as terrorists, stating on social media, “Just as al-Qaida waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people.”
Trump denied a Wall Street Journal report that B-1 bombers were flown near Venezuela earlier in the day. Some analysts speculate the anti-narcotics efforts are a pretext for ousting President Nicolás Maduro, whom Trump has called a “narco-terrorist.”
Democrats and some Trump supporters have questioned the strikes. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) criticized the approach, asking, “How often has regime change worked out well for the United States?” and warning it puts American lives at risk.
