President Donald Trump told United States troops that land-based operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin very soon, marking a new phase in Operation Southern Spear.
Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago estate, he praised ongoing sea missions and promised that moving enforcement onto land would be easier.
According to Trump, maritime interdiction has already reduced drug trafficking by about eighty-five percent as warships, aircraft, and unmanned vessels targeted smuggling routes in the Caribbean.
His remarks suggested that planners were preparing to extend the campaign across borders, even as officials privately acknowledged that the United States lacked explicit legal authority for strikes inside Venezuela.
How Operation Southern Spear moved from sea to land
Operation Southern Spear started as a maritime and air-focused mission that targeted fast boats and freighters suspected of carrying narcotics toward North America.
United States officials said at least eighty-three people were killed in related strikes since September, figures that underlined the intensity of the campaign and its human cost.
Trump told service members that traffickers now preferred land corridors because the sea had become too dangerous.
He said United States forces would begin to stop them by land as well and described ground operations as easier than sea-based missions.
His words raised immediate questions about how such actions would be conducted inside or around Venezuelan territory without sparking direct confrontation.
Did you know?
Venezuela holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world, yet its economy shrank by more than half between 2013 and 2020, according to international financial estimates.
A Caribbean buildup that echoes the Cuban Missile Crisis
The land threat came on top of a major military buildup already in place around Venezuela. About fifteen thousand United States personnel were deployed across the Caribbean in what officials called the largest regional presence since the Cuban Missile Crisis, a comparison that drew concern from veteran diplomats and security scholars.
The carrier USS Gerald R Ford and its strike group arrived in November with F-35C fighters and advanced surveillance systems, joining at least eight warships and B-52 bombers flying near Venezuelan shores.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the carrier and framed the mission as an effort to remove narco terrorists from the Western Hemisphere, language that signaled a long campaign rather than a brief show of force.
Legal and political questions around strikes on Venezuelan soil
Behind closed doors, administration officials briefed lawmakers that current authorities did not clearly permit attacks inside Venezuela. Much of the operation relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and other measures usually focused on sanctions and economic restrictions rather than cross-border combat raids on sovereign territory.
Legal scholars warned that stretching existing statutes to justify land incursions could face tough scrutiny in United States courts and might invite a rebuke from the Supreme Court, which had already heard challenges to the administration's use of emergency powers for tariffs.
Members of Congress from both parties pressed for consultation before any step that might resemble an invasion, mindful of memories from past interventions in Latin America.
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How Caracas' allies and airlines reacted to rising tension
In Caracas, President Nicolas Maduro ordered about 200,000 troops to maximum alert and denounced Operation Southern Spear as a pretext for regime change.
He insisted that Venezuelans would not be intimidated and promised that the armed forces would defend national sovereignty if United States forces attempted to cross the border or conduct raids on land targets.
Russia and China quickly expressed support for Maduro. President Vladimir Putin sent a letter promising unwavering solidarity, while Chinese officials warned against actions that could destabilize the region.
At the same time, the State Department labeled the Cartel de los Soles, which Washington says is led by Maduro, as a foreign terrorist organization, a step that further hardened rhetoric on both sides and narrowed space for compromise.
What new land missions could mean for civilians and the region?
The rising tension has already affected civil aviation. After the United States Federal Aviation Administration warned about heightened military activity near Venezuela, several major airlines suspended flights.
In response, Caracas revoked operating permits for carriers such as Iberia, TAP, Turkish Airlines, Avianca, LATAM, and Gol, accusing them of participating in what it called state terrorism promoted by Washington.
Humanitarian groups feared that land operations could compound hardship for Venezuelans who already faced economic collapse and political turmoil.
They noted that drug trafficking networks often operate near border communities that host large numbers of migrants and refugees.
Any ground campaign, they argued, might increase civilian casualties, disrupt aid delivery, and send new waves of people toward neighboring states that struggle with limited resources.
Looking ahead, regional leaders and policy experts saw a narrow window to steer the crisis away from open conflict.
They urged Washington to coordinate closely with Latin American partners, strengthen intelligence sharing, and expand development assistance that tackles the roots of the drug trade, such as corruption and lack of opportunity.
At the same time, they called on Caracas to allow credible international monitoring and to curb cooperation between state officials and criminal groups.
Without parallel progress on diplomacy, governance, and law enforcement, they warned that new land missions might deliver only temporary disruption while deepening resentment, inviting foreign rivals into the hemisphere, and leaving the next United States administration with a more dangerous and divided region.
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