On Thursday, President Trump announced that the U.S. would soon begin stopping suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers on land.
While addressing military personnel on Thanksgiving at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, he commended the Air Force’s 7th Bomb Wing for its efforts in disrupting the Venezuelan drug trade.
“You’ve been working in recent weeks to halt Venezuelan drug traffickers, and there are plenty of them,” Trump remarked. “And as you might have noticed, not many come in by sea anymore.”
He highlighted the deadly impact of these traffickers, stating they are responsible for “hundreds of thousands of deaths each year” due to the “poison” entering the country.
“Their poison is being sent to the United States, killing hundreds of thousands of people every year, and we intend to tackle this issue,” Trump explained. “We’re already doing quite a bit—roughly 85% interdiction at sea.”
He continued, “As you all know, people don’t want to use the sea for deliveries anymore, so we will begin stopping land deliveries as well. It’s easier to manage that way, and it’ll start very soon.”
Trump also emphasized, “We tell them: ‘Stop sending poison into our country.'”
A few weeks ago, he had mentioned that he had not dismissed the idea of sending U.S. troops to Venezuela as efforts intensify against criminal networks associated with the leadership and drug exports of the country.
When asked on November 17 whether he had ruled out sending U.S. ground troops to Venezuela, he replied, “No, I wouldn’t rule it out. I wouldn’t rule anything out.”
Since early September, numerous ships have faced destruction in attacks in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean, many traced back to Venezuela’s Torren de Aragua gang and Colombia’s Ejercito de Liberación Nacional.
Recently, the regime has conducted at least 21 deadly attacks on vessels.
The White House has not provided a comment in response to inquiries.
