Trump warns Venezuela land strikes are coming 'soon'

 President Donald Trump recently escalated tensions with Venezuela, warning that the U.S. will soon carry out land-based strikes aimed at intercepting alleged narcotics shipments from the country.

Knewz.com has learned that the comments, made after U.S. forces seized an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast, fueled fears of a broader confrontation amid increasing military buildup in the Caribbean.

Trump warns land strikes are imminent

Trump told reporters that U.S. efforts had sharply reduced drug trafficking by sea and that operations would now extend to land routes.

“We’ll start that on land, too. It’s going to be starting on land pretty soon,” he said.

Claiming maritime smuggling was “down 92 percent,” Trump offered no specifics about where the land actions would occur or whether they would involve U.S. forces operating inside Venezuelan territory.

Notably, the president has been making similar remarks since late November, arguing that his administration has effectively shut down sea-based trafficking and would soon address overland routes.

Trump’s warning follows capture of oil vessel

Trump’s warning followed the capture of a vessel the U.S. said was carrying sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

It has been reported that Washington is preparing to intercept additional ships transporting Venezuelan crude oil, citing six sources familiar with the plans.

The moves come amid a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean that Venezuela says signals an attempt at regime change.

Since September, U.S. forces have attacked more than 20 vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific while operating in international waters, killing more than 80 people, according to Trump administration officials.

Although those officials said that the campaign only targeted boats carrying narcotics destined for the U.S., the operations have already strained relations with Caracas.

Constraints on Trump’s willingness and ability to act

Despite Trump’s rhetoric, analysts have cautioned that there are political and strategic limits to how far the administration can go.

Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, said in a recent statement that the White House is acutely aware of perceptions that the campaign could be about regime change rather than drug enforcement.

She said that this perception would weigh heavily on any sort of decision to use military force, placing some constraints on Trump’s willingness and ability to act.

Any strikes that do occur would likely be narrowly focused on sites Washington claims are tied to drug trafficking infrastructure, rather than broader military or governmental targets.

Maduro rejects U.S. accusations

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has repeatedly denied U.S. allegations that his government is linked to drug trafficking, accusing Washington of using the issue as a pretext to remove him from power.

To complicate things further, the U.S. does not recognize Maduro’s government following a disputed 2024 election.

President Trump framed the confrontation bluntly in a recent statement, saying, “They’ve treated us badly, and I guess now we’re not treating them so good.”

With diplomacy stalled and military pressure increasing, his warning that land strikes are coming “soon” underscores the risk that a counternarcotics campaign could escalate into a wider conflict.