TRUMP says his forces have hit another boat carrying illegal narcotics off Venezuela’s coast as America’s war on drugs could move to land.
The president praised the Navy’s efforts to ” blow the cartel terrorists the hell out of the water” on Sunday.
Trump said he would take his war on drugs onto Venezuelan land if cartels stopped bringing narcotics in via boats[/caption]
A recent US strike on a vessel allegedly carrying illegal drugs killed four people[/caption]
Speaking at Naval Station Norfolk while standing beside the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman, Trump hinted at further action inside Venezuelan territory.
“In recent weeks, the Navy has supported our mission to blow the cartel terrorists the hell out of the water… We did another one last night,” he said.
Trump continued, saying inland cartels would be the new targets, threatening to strike inside Venezuela.
“They’re not coming in by sea any more, so now we’ll have to start looking about the land because they’ll be forced to go by land,” he said.
Any potential move would be unprecedented as the US military has never directly attacked cartels in Mexico.
Javed Ali, an associate professor at the University of Michigan, said a direct attack on cartels north of the border would give the president the widest opportunity for action inside Mexico.
He said Trump could also put Article II of the US Constitution into play, meaning the president is free to use the military to defend the US.
Ali said the president could also invoke the War Powers Act, which would give Trump 60 days to carry out military operations before having to seek congressional approval.
Trump’s choices come alongside a new executive order, where he designated cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organisations.
The order designated eight Latin American cartels, including six from Mexico, as terrorist groups.
The executive order has yet to be enacted, however Matthew Waxman from Columbia University, said it wouldn’t increase Trump’s options for action inside Mexico.
The executive order is one of several Trump signed to deal with the problems of drugs, unchecked immigration, and human trafficking.
Regardless of whether Trump followed the domestic legalities of cross-border action, his first option would likely be airstrikes, most likely using drones.
For this to happen, Mexican authorities would have to approve any military action carried out by the US.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the executive order would only be applicable if there was close coordination between the two governments.
“We all want to fight the drug cartels,” Sheinbaum said.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said any US action must be in close coordination with the Mexican military[/caption]
Trump’s best way forward could be airstrikes with drones[/caption]
“The US in their territory [and] us in our territory.”
Trump would also face other problems, including deciphering which cartels to target first.
At the centre of these discussions, a video of the boat strike was shared by Pete Hegseth, US Defence Secretary.
The footage shows a boat travelling through international waters before a web of missiles fall around the vessel.
The dropping projectiles hit the water, causing the boat to explode on impact.
Four people died in the strike.
The video, dated Friday, October 3, has brought Trump’s claim into question.
It remains unclear whether he was referring to Friday’s boat attack or referencing an additional one.
Claims that the US are specifically targeting drug traffickers in these strikes are yet to be independently verified.
Hegseth told Fox News that “all options are on the table if we’re dealing with what are designated to be foreign terrorist organisations”.
He said he had “every authorisation needed” to conduct the attacks.
He did not provide more details on who authorisation came from.
Enlisted citizens and residents in Venezuela are being trained with weapons as tensions heighten with the US[/caption]
The training comes after a boat allegedly carrying illegal drugs was blown out of the water by the US on Friday, killing four passengers[/caption]
On the social media platform X, he said the vessel had been carrying “substantial amounts of narcotics – headed to America to poison our people”.
“These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over,” he wrote.
Hegseth claimed the intelligence “without a doubt” confirmed the boat to be carrying drugs and labelled the people on board as “narco-terrorists”.
No information about what drugs or the amount that was allegedly on board the boat has been released.
Hegseth also did not reveal any evidence to support the claims the passengers on board were drug smugglers or part of a cartel.
Russia has since condemned the lethal strike, warning of a potential escalation in the entire Caribbean region.
Sergey Lavrov, Russia‘s Foreign Minister, condemned the attack over a telephone call with his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement regarding the incident.
“The ministers expressed concern about Washington‘s escalation in the Caribbean Sea that are fraught with far-reaching consequences for the region,” it read.
“The Russian side has confirmed its full support and solidarity with the leadership and people of Venezuela in the current context.”
The statement from Moscow has come after Venezuela’s dictator fumed the US wants to oust him and install a “puppet government”
Nicolas Maduro stared down Donald Trump’s declaration of war against the cartels, which the President insists are “poisoning” Americans with fentanyl and other drugs.
Trump has accused tyrannical Maduro of being in bed with the “terrorist” narco-cartels – and he has given himself the right to eliminate their members without trial.
Reports say the US is gearing up to seize ports and airfields in Venezuela.
Trump signed an executive order designating drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organisations[/caption]
Furious Maduro complained on Friday that America is perpetrating “an armed aggression to impose regime change” and “puppet governments”.
He previously said the US has “1,200 missiles pointed at our heads. They have a nuclear submarine.”
“There are eight destroyers in the Caribbean, that’s never been seen before,” he said.
Maduro thundered that any state challenging Venezuela would be “taught a lesson”, no matter how powerful they are.
Finally, he desperately protested his innocence of drugs trafficking, and claimed the US really just wants to steal Venezuela’s oil, gas and gold.
