Trump says Venezuela anti-drug operations ‘by land’ to begin ‘soon’

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday (November 27, 2025) that efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking “by land” would begin “very soon,” further ratcheting up tensions with Caracas, which claims the anti-drug campaign aims at regime change. Mr. Trump made the remarks while video conferencing with deployed U.S. troops to mark the Thanksgiving holiday.

Several of the U.S. military groups that Mr. Trump addressed were actively participating in his anti-drug operation, dubbed “Southern Spear,” which has seen a large military build-up in the Caribbean.

The U.S. military has carried out a series of air strikes against boats it claims were trafficking drugs in international waters, without offering evidence to back up its claims.

Those strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have killed at least 83 people, according to a tally of publicly released figures.

The remarks come as U.S. continues to pile pressure on Venezuela.

Elaborating on U.S. efforts to halt drug trafficking, Mr. Trump said, “We’ve almost stopped — it’s about 85% stopped by sea.”

“You probably noticed that people aren’t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land,” he said.

“Also the land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon,” he added.

Ratcheting pressure

The remarks come as Trump’s administration continues to pile pressure on Venezuela, despite the U.S. President saying in recent days that he was open to dialogue with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

With an aircraft carrier group and numerous other assets in the Caribbean, Washington on Monday designated an alleged Venezuelan drug cartel a foreign terrorist organization, while top U.S. military officials also travelled to the region this week.