Two B-1 bombers took off from Dyce Air Force Base in Texas on Thursday morning, heading toward Venezuela, according to a senior U.S. government source who cited flight tracking data.
During a roundtable on immigration and crime enforcement at the White House, President Trump denied the initial report, saying, “No, that’s not accurate. It’s false.” He went on to express his discontent with Venezuela for various reasons, particularly mentioning drug trafficking and the issue of prisoners crossing into the U.S.
Interestingly, Army Secretary Pete Hegseth didn’t correct the President during a subsequent Q&A session with reporters.
While discussing illegal drug smuggling, Trump suggested that cartels are shifting to land routes. He remarked, “Now they’re coming by land,” indicating that there might be further discussions with Congress regarding this issue.
Making a broader point about narcotics, Trump mentioned progress in discussions with Chinese President Xi, suggesting that the situation regarding sea-based drug trafficking is improving. He noted that drug transport over land presents greater risks.
A few hours earlier, Hegseth confirmed that the U.S. military had conducted an offensive strike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel, resulting in the deaths of three individuals linked to the operation. This marked the ninth such incident since September, bringing the death toll in military actions against suspected trafficking to 37—two survivors were later sent back to their home country.
When asked why he hadn’t sought congressional approval for a war declaration against the cartels, Trump indicated that he didn’t see it as necessary, stating, “I think we’re just going to kill the people who are bringing drugs into our country. … They’re going to die.”
