The current national flag of Venezuela was introduced in 2006. Flag Day is celebrated on August 3.

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – President Donald Trump said on Dec. 2 that the United States will begin conducting military strikes inside Venezuela “very soon,” marking a significant escalation in Washington’s months-long campaign to dismantle narcotics networks that U.S. officials say are operating with the protection of the Maduro regime.

Speaking during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, the president confirmed that the new phase of operations will target drug-production and trafficking facilities on land–both in Venezuela and potentially in other countries suspected of aiding narcotics flows into the United States.

“We’re going to start doing those strikes on land too,” Trump said. “We know where they live. We know where the bad ones live, and we’re going to start that very soon.”

Expanding From Sea to Land

U.S. forces have already conducted multiple maritime strikes since September, destroying 22 vessels and killing at least 83 suspected traffickers in the Caribbean Sea. The Pentagon confirmed those operations targeted boats allegedly shipping drugs toward U.S. shores.

Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the actions as necessary to combat the flow of cocaine and fentanyl precursors into the United States, while denying reports that senior leaders authorized a second strike in September to kill survivors of the initial hit.

“I didn’t know about the second strike,” Trump said.

Hegseth added that he watched the first strike live before leaving for another meeting.

Targets Could Include Colombia

The president signaled that operations may extend well beyond Venezuelan territory.

“Anybody that’s doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack,” Trump said, noting that Colombia–long the world’s top producer of cocaine–could also face U.S. strikes.

“I hear Colombia is making cocaine… They have cocaine manufacturing plants and then they sell us the cocaine.”

He added that land-based cocaine manufacturing facilities would likely be among the first targets.

Pressure on Maduro Intensifies

Washington has been steadily tightening pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the Trump administration accuses of leading the Cartel de los Soles, recently designated a foreign terrorist organization. The State Department has declared Maduro’s government illegitimate, citing widespread allegations that last year’s election was rigged.

“Cartel de los Soles, by and with other designated FTOs, including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, are responsible for terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere,” the State Department said in a Nov. 16 statement. The department vowed to continue using “all available tools” to cut off resources to narco-terrorist organizations.

The president’s comments follow his confirmation that he recently held a phone call with Maduro, though Trump declined to share details. Days earlier, he warned on social media that airspace “above and surrounding Venezuela” should be considered closed.

Scrutiny Mounts Over Rules of Engagement

The administration is under bipartisan scrutiny after reports emerged that a second U.S. strike in September killed survivors of an initial attack on a suspected Venezuelan drug-running vessel. Critics in Congress have demanded greater transparency on rules of engagement and the legal basis for lethal strikes outside active war zones.

But Trump has framed the operations as necessary to protect American lives amid a resurgent opioid and cocaine crisis.

“The land is much easier,” he said on Tuesday. “We know the routes they take. We know everything about them.”

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