President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the United States will begin striking drug trafficking targets on land in Latin America “very soon,” expanding military operations beyond the sea-based campaign that has killed more than 80 people since September.
The announcement, made during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, marks a significant escalation in the administration’s military campaign and prompted an immediate rebuke from Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who warned that attacking his country’s sovereignty would constitute a declaration of war.
“We’re going to start doing those strikes on land, too,” Trump told reporters. “You know, the land is much easier. And we know the routes they take, we know everything about them. We know where they live, we know where the bad ones live. And we’re going to start that very soon, too.”
Trump singled out Colombia, stating the country produces cocaine in manufacturing plants and sells it to the United States. “Anybody that’s doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack,” he said, suggesting military strikes would not be limited to Venezuela alone.
Petro fired back on social media, inviting Trump to Colombia to witness anti-narcotics operations. The Colombian president said his government has destroyed 18,400 cocaine laboratories during his administration.
“Do not threaten our sovereignty, because you will awaken the jaguar,” Petro wrote. “Attacking our sovereignty means declaring war, don’t destroy two centuries of diplomatic relations.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking alongside Trump at the Cabinet meeting, said the military is “taking the gloves off.” He told reporters: “We’ve only just begun striking narco boats and putting narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean.”
The administration has struck more than 20 vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September, operations Washington characterizes as targeting drug smugglers. Critics have questioned the strikes’ legality and demanded evidence that the vessels carried drugs.
The announcement comes as the Pentagon faces bipartisan congressional scrutiny over a September incident in which forces reportedly conducted a follow-up strike that killed two survivors of an initial attack on a suspected drug boat. The White House confirmed Monday that the second strike occurred but said Navy Admiral Frank Bradley gave the order, not Hegseth.
The US military has positioned more than 15,000 troops in the Caribbean region and deployed the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford. Trump last week declared Venezuelan airspace should be considered closed, though the US lacks authority to enforce such a closure.
Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading what the administration designated last week as the Cartel de los Soles, a foreign terrorist organization. Venezuela denies the allegations and says the cartel does not exist.
Read: Venezuela Mobilizes 200,000 Troops as US Labels Cartel Terrorist Group
The administration gave Maduro a November 28 deadline to leave Venezuela following a phone call between the two leaders. Maduro rejected the ultimatum and remains in power. Trump has authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela and offered a $50 million bounty for information leading to Maduro’s capture.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News Tuesday that despite Maduro’s failure to keep past agreements, the Trump administration remains open to negotiations. “That doesn’t mean the president won’t try, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try,” Rubio said.
Read: Trump’s Ultimatum to Maduro Expires as Military Pressure Mounts
Congressional efforts to limit Trump’s military campaign have failed. The Senate voted down a war powers resolution in November that would have blocked strikes against Venezuela without congressional authorization, with 49 senators supporting the measure.
Petro, who leaves office in August 2026, insisted cooperation on drug interdiction cannot become military confrontation. He noted Colombia has helped prevent thousands of tons of cocaine from reaching the United States.
Trump did not specify when land strikes might begin or identify specific targets. The announcement is his administration’s most explicit threat yet to conduct military operations inside sovereign Latin American nations.
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