The U.S. has issued the strongest signal yet that it may soon launch a ground operation inside Venezuela. President Donald Trump told American troops that “land action” against the Maduro regime is coming “very soon.”
The president made the comment during his Thanksgiving call with U.S. troops, praising the Air Force’s 7th Bomb Wing for destroying suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean.
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The military has hit nearly two dozen vessels since September, killing more than 80 people the Trump administration claims were working with cartels. The contested legality of those strikes has led to significant global and domestic backlash, most recently from some Democrats in Congress.
Trump said maritime trafficking is now 85% stopped and claimed a ground operation would be “easier.” The U.S. has already moved the U.S.S. Gerald Ford into the region as part of a broader military build-up.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro denies any ties to drug cartels and says the U.S. is fabricating a war against him. He warned the U.S. against initiating a war of regime change, comparing a potential U.S. invasion of Venezuela to past U.S. actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Any U.S. land operations would likely face new challenges, experts say. And it’s not clear whether those operations would be legal, even after the Trump administration’s designation of Maduro and his allies as belonging to a foreign terrorist organization.
What that designation clearly does allow for is tougher sanctions on Venezuela, including sanctions that could target Maduro’s personal assets, in addition to sanctions on Venezuela’s infrastructure.
