U.S. weighs strikes inside Venezuela as drug-trafficking crackdown escalates

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is reportedly drafting plans to strike drug-trafficking leadership inside Venezuela in coming weeks, a major escalation from operations aimed at drug boats in the southern Caribbean, NBC News reported. The White House has not approved any attack plan, but the move comes amid concerns that President Nicolas Maduro’s government has failed to stem the flow of illicit drugs from Venezuela to the United States and elsewhere. Initial plans, according to NBC News’ four sources, would use drones to target cartel leadership and members as well as drug laboratories. “We’ll see what happens,” Trump said earlier this month when asked about potential strikes inside Venezuela. “Venezuela is sending us their gang members, their drug dealers and drugs. It’s not acceptable.”

The administration has long sought to ramp up pressure on Caracas. Since the strikes earlier this month against alleged Venezuelan drug boats, the United States has moved at least eight ships to the region and dispatched multiple F-35 fighter jets, the Pentagon said. Trump has announced at least three strikes against alleged drug boats since Sept. 2, killing at least 17 people. While the administration has not publicly presented clear evidence that those vessels carried drugs, an official in the nearby Dominican Republic claimed at a press conference that drugs were detected in the water near one of the boats after a strike. During the 2024 campaign, Trump pledged to crack down on the flow of illicit drugs into the United States. Last month, the U.S. government announced a $50 million bounty for information leading to Maduro’s arrest.

Maduro has publicly denounced the strikes against the alleged drug boats and denied involvement in drug trafficking, though privately he has told intermediaries that he might be open to concessions to stop the attacks. Unclassified footage released by the president shows the attack on the boats, a move that has fed a debate over the effectiveness and legality of the strikes. Maduro reportedly sent a letter to Trump urging dialogue, a missive that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized as lacking credibility and reiterated the administration’s position that the Maduro regime is illegitimate and that it would use any and all means necessary to stop the illegal trafficking of deadly drugs from Venezuela into the United States.

The United States has maintained broad sanctions on Venezuela, arguing they are aimed at pressuring Maduro’s government to curb drug production and trafficking networks. Caracas has faced years of economic hardship, driven in part by sanctions and a drop in oil revenue, and the two governments have maintained limited diplomatic contact, including discussions on deportations. Administration officials say the pressure is intended to disrupt the networks that move drugs from South America to North America and beyond, though precise evidence of the networks’ structure and leadership remains closely held.

As the U.S. weighs more aggressive action, Washington continues to emphasize that its policy is not aimed at the Venezuelan people but at drug-trafficking operations linked to the Maduro regime. Maduro’s government has warned that unilateral strikes could escalate regional instability, while U.S. officials have signaled that long-term cooperation on border and deportation issues could coexist with punitive pressure on illicit networks. The unfolding debate comes as the world watches whether Washington will move from airborne interdictions and targeted strikes to onshore actions inside Venezuela and how such a shift would affect the broader regional balance of power.

Ultimately, officials say any decision to strike inside Venezuela would require high-level authorization and would be coordinated with regional partners. For now, the plan remains in deliberation, with the administration signaling a willingness to act more aggressively if current efforts fail to curb the flow of drugs that officials say threaten U.S. communities. The cluster of related actions—sanctions, bounty incentives, and drone strikes—illustrates a comprehensive approach that U.S. officials say is necessary to disrupt drug trafficking networks with ties to Maduro’s government, even as Washington continues to seek dialogue as a parallel track. The situation in Venezuela remains volatile, and the next steps could have significant implications for regional security and U.S.-Venezuela relations.