In a dramatic escalation of long-simmering tensions, President Donald Trump has severed all diplomatic contact with Venezuela and authorized a sweeping military campaign against Latin American drug cartels, marking a historic shift in America’s war on drugs. The move, announced in early October 2025, signals a readiness to expand operations from sea to land—a step that could reverberate throughout the region and beyond.
Standing beside the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman at Naval Station Norfolk, Trump praised the U.S. Navy’s recent success in targeting cartel vessels off Venezuela’s coast. “In recent weeks, the Navy has supported our mission to blow the cartel terrorists the hell out of the water… We did another one last night,” he declared on October 5, as reported by the New York Times and The US Sun. The president’s rhetoric left little doubt about his intentions: “They’re not coming in by sea any more, so now we’ll have to start looking about the land because they’ll be forced to go by land.”
The president’s remarks followed a series of high-profile missile strikes against suspected cartel boats in the Caribbean. A video shared by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, dated October 3, showed a boat being obliterated by a barrage of missiles, the resulting explosion killing four people. Hegseth, in a post on X, claimed the vessel was carrying “substantial amounts of narcotics – headed to America to poison our people.” He labeled those onboard as “narco-terrorists,” vowing, “These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over.” However, no specific evidence or details about the drugs allegedly on board have been released, and independent verification of the U.S. claims remains elusive.
Since September 2025, at least 17 suspected traffickers have been killed in similar U.S. strikes at sea, according to Pentagon sources cited by The US Sun. The campaign’s intensity has prompted questions from legal experts and lawmakers. Senator Jack Reed expressed alarm, warning that Trump was waging “a secret war against secret enemies, without the consent of Congress.” Legal scholars have noted that the president is stretching post-9/11 war powers, targeting organizations that have not attacked U.S. forces directly.
Trump’s legal justification for the offensive is rooted in a rare move: declaring the conflict with drug cartels a “non-international armed conflict.” This designation, discussed in Oval Office briefings and reported by the Washington Examiner, grants the president sweeping wartime authority to strike, kill, and detain cartel fighters without trial. Trump has further bolstered his position by signing executive orders that designate eight Latin American cartels—including six from Mexico—as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. This new legal framework, according to Javed Ali, a former senior counter-terrorism official at the University of Michigan, could allow Trump to invoke Article II of the Constitution and the War Powers Act, enabling military operations for up to 60 days without congressional approval.
The U.S. military presence in the region is formidable. Off Venezuela’s coast, Navy warships and a nuclear submarine patrol the waters, supported by ten F-35 Lightning II stealth jets and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit—2,200 Marines equipped with Harrier jump jets, helicopters, and armor. U.S. special operations forces have rehearsed parachute and airfield seizures in the Caribbean, and Puerto Rico now serves as a forward base, with regular flights of troops and equipment. Reports suggest the Pentagon is prepared to seize key ports and airfields in Venezuela if ordered—a scenario that would mark an unprecedented escalation.
Diplomacy, meanwhile, has all but collapsed. On October 2, Trump ordered his envoy Richard Grenell to cut all contact with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a move reflecting the administration’s frustration with Maduro’s refusal to step aside and his alleged protection of narcotics traffickers. According to the New York Times, Maduro had written to Trump in September, denying Venezuela’s involvement in drug trafficking and offering to continue negotiations. Trump, however, was unmoved, shutting the door on further talks and doubling down on military pressure.
Maduro, for his part, has responded with defiance and fiery rhetoric. He has repeatedly accused the U.S. of armed aggression aimed at regime change, claiming that America’s true goal is to “impose puppet governments” and seize Venezuela’s oil, gas, and gold. In public statements, Maduro has alleged that the U.S. military has “1,200 missiles pointed at our heads,” a nuclear submarine lurking nearby, and eight destroyers in the Caribbean—forces he says have never been seen before. On October 3, he claimed that a “local terrorist group” had plotted to bomb the U.S. embassy in Caracas, a charge many analysts interpret as both a warning and propaganda.
The international response has been swift. Russia, a longtime ally of Venezuela, condemned the U.S. missile strike, warning of potential escalation throughout the Caribbean. In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “concern about Washington’s escalation in the Caribbean Sea that are fraught with far-reaching consequences for the region.” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s “full support and solidarity with the leadership and people of Venezuela in the current context.”
Mexico, too, has weighed in. President Claudia Sheinbaum emphasized that any U.S. military action against cartels would require close coordination between the two governments. “We all want to fight the drug cartels,” Sheinbaum said, “The U.S. in their territory [and] us in our territory.” Her remarks highlight the delicate balance required in cross-border operations, particularly given the U.S. military has never before directly attacked cartels in Mexico.
Back in Washington, the debate continues. Critics argue that the administration’s reliance on military force, rather than law enforcement, risks setting a dangerous precedent. Matthew Waxman of Columbia University noted that Trump’s executive order designating cartels as terrorist groups does not necessarily expand his options for action inside Mexico, and that any cross-border strikes would still require host nation approval. Others warn that the campaign could spiral into a broader regional conflict, with unpredictable consequences for U.S. relations across Latin America.
Trump, meanwhile, remains unapologetic. On Truth Social, he wrote, “Stop selling fentanyl, narcotics, and illegal drugs in America. These terrorists are poisoning our people.” At every turn, he has framed the fight in warlike terms, arguing that only overwhelming force can break the cartels’ grip and stem the tide of deadly drugs like fentanyl reaching American shores. “There’s more where that came from,” he vowed after the latest blitz.
As the U.S. flexes its military muscle and diplomatic ties fray, the world watches to see whether this new front in the war on drugs will bring relief from the scourge of narcotics—or unleash new dangers in an already volatile region.
