President Donald Trump in an interview that aired Sunday agreed that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s “days as president are numbered.”
Trump sat for an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” his first interview with the program in five years. CBS correspondent Norah O&#8217;Donnell asked the president about the future of Maduro, who Trump first demanded step down in 2018, leading Venezuela.
“On Venezuela in particular, are Maduro&#8217;s days as president numbered?” O’Donnell asked.
Trump replied: “I would say yeah. I think so, yeah.”
Reports late last week <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article312722642.html">suggested</a> <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/u-s-eyes-striking-venezuelan-military-targets-used-for-drug-trafficking-cafcfe47?st=tchg4R%3E">that</a> the Trump administration has looked at land targets in Venezuela to strike as part of its escalating efforts to crack down on drug trafficking to the United States. The targets reportedly consist of military assets that have been used in the drug trade.
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Trump said last month that he has approved CIA operations in Venezuela to counter the drug trade and Maduro, whom his administration has identified as a top cartel leader and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-hikes-bounty-on-venezuelas-maduro-to-50m">imposed</a> a $50 million bounty on.
Trump dismissed O’Donnell’s questions regarding any plans to launch military strikes on Venezuelan territory.
“I&#8217;m not saying it&#8217;s true or untrue,” said Trump of reports of potential strikes.
“I wouldn&#8217;t be inclined to say that I would do that. But – because I don&#8217;t talk to a reporter about whether or not I&#8217;m gonna strike,” said Trump. “You&#8217;re a wonderful reporter, you&#8217;re very talented, but I&#8217;m not going to tell you what I&#8217;m going to do with Venezuela, if I was gonna do it, or if I wasn&#8217;t going to do it.”
Trump also played coy when asked about his decision last week to deploy the USS Gerald R Ford carrier and its strike group to the Caribbean. The Ford is the newest and most advanced aircraft carrier in the U.S. fleet.
“It&#8217;s gotta be somewhere. It&#8217;s a big one,” Trump said when asked what purpose the Ford serves in the Caribbean.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Norah O&#8217;Donnell: “Is it about stopping narcotics or is it about getting rid of [Venezuelan dictator Nicolás] Maduro?”
President Trump: “This is about many things.”
Norah O&#8217;Donnell: “Are Maduro’s days as president numbered?”
President Trump: “I would say yeah, I think so,… <a href="https://t.co/RBdCwn5xW2">pic.twitter.com/RBdCwn5xW2</a>
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) <a href="https://twitter.com/RedWave_Press/status/1985158157153243508?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2025</a></blockquote>

Nicolas Maduro

Trump Says Maduro’s Days Leading Venezuela Are Numbered

Trump Says Maduro's Days Leading Venezuela Are Numbered

Donald Trump

United States

Venezuela

President Donald Trump has set the stage for precision strikes inside Venezuela on military facilities the United States says protect and empower one of the globe’s most dangerous criminal syndicates, Cartel de los Soles.
The strikes reportedly could begin within hours.
The White House has intimated that Nicolás Maduro isn’t just Venezuela’s dictatorial ruler — he’s the head of the Soles cartel. &#8220;Cartel de los Soles is a Venezuela-based criminal group headed by Nicolas Maduro Moros and other high-ranking Venezuelan individuals in the Maduro regime that provides material support to foreign terrorist organizations threatening the peace and security of the United States, namely Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel,&#8221; the Treasury Department <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0207">reported</a> in July.
According to a source who spoke to <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article312722642.html">the Miami Herald</a>, “Maduro is about to find himself trapped and might soon discover that he cannot flee the country even if he decided to. What’s worse for him, there is now more than one general willing to capture and hand him over, fully aware that one thing is to talk about death, and another to see it coming.”
The strategic focus of the attacks is decapitating the cartel hierarchy that, Washington says, moves half a thousand tons of cocaine to American and European markets each year. Though officials haven’t confirmed if Maduro himself is a target, one source put it bluntly — “his time is running out,” the Miami Herald reported.
This escalation follows months of buildup ordered directly by President Trump upon returning to the Oval Office in January 2025. He executed a multipronged campaign to dismantle the crime-terror pipelines running from Caracas to Central America. Trump’s first move was to designate the Cartel de los Soles and its enforcer gang, Tren de Aragua, as terrorist organizations.
That classification signaled that the U.S. now treats Venezuela’s military-backed cartel as a global threat on par with al-Qaeda. Backing that declaration is a Joint Task Force of U.S. destroyers, Marines, and advanced aircraft patrols the Caribbean with pinpoint reconnaissance and reconnaissance drones tracking smuggling routes.
The arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, along with her full strike group, marked the largest U.S. naval concentration in the region in decades. Former Venezuelan officers call it the “final phase” — a buildup designed for precision strikes, not occupation.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth greenlit the deployment of F-35B fighters and MQ-9 Reapers to Puerto Rico, capable of destroying clandestine drug labs and airstrips in Venezuelan territory. Meanwhile, President Trump doubled the bounty for Maduro’s capture to $50 million — the largest such reward in U.S. history — and offered $25 million apiece for his cartel lieutenants, including Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, both indicted in U.S. courts on narcotics charges.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi, announcing the reward increase, accused Maduro of running the Cartel de los Soles “as a military drug empire” allied with Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and transnational gangs.  Administration officials make no effort to hide their intent: destroy the cartel’s infrastructure and cripple Maduro’s power base. Trump, who has long pledged to stop the flow of deadly narcotics into the United States, views the Venezuelan campaign as the next front in his war on drugs — a continuation of his promise to use every element of American power to defend the nation from foreign narco-terror.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/u-s-eyes-striking-venezuelan-military-targets-used-for-drug-trafficking-cafcfe47">put it bluntly</a>: “The President is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our homeland.”  Behind the naval armada, U.S. intelligence operations have intensified. Trump recently confirmed that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert actions inside Venezuela — a rare presidential admission that signals just how personal this mission has become.
Pentagon sources reveal that B-1 and B-52 bombers have made repeated flights along Venezuela’s coast, probing its Russian-built S-300 missile systems and mapping air-defense weak points.  Maduro bragged last week that his forces possessed 5,000 Russian-made surface-to-air missiles. But analysts note that the overwhelming American presence — from electronic-warfare Growlers to missile-equipped destroyers — gives Trump unmatched tactical options. Former Commander of U.S. Southern Command Admiral James Stavridis called the buildup “a hammer poised over Caracas.”
Trump insiders echo the same strategic philosophy that guided earlier operations against Iranian General Qasem Soleimani: swift, targeted, devastating action. Elliott Abrams, Trump’s former Venezuela envoy, noted, “What he favors are high-impact strikes, not long occupations.” The force assembled in the Caribbean — roughly 10,000 personnel and over 100 combat aircraft — is optimized for surgical strikes, not invasion.
The administration’s goal, officials say, is not to occupy Venezuela but to break the nexus between Maduro’s regime and the international drug trade — through relentless, decisive pressure. Should Maduro’s own generals turn against him, the end could come swiftly. As one source told the Herald, “There’s more than one general willing to hand him over. Talking about death is one thing. Seeing it coming is another.”

US Warship Docked In Panama After Trump Said Military Hit Third Drug Boat From Venezuela

U.S. Precision Strikes On Venezuela Military Could Begin Within Hours

U.S. Military

President Donald Trump may order land strikes on Venezuela and other parts of South America in pursuit of drug cartels without congressional authority, according to South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Graham appeared on CBS’ “Face The Nation” on Sunday and defended Trump’s suggestion last week that land strikes may be the next step after the U.S. military blew up 10 drug boats and submarines in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.
“I think that&#8217;s a real possibility,” said Graham on the potential for U.S. strikes on land in South America. “I think President Trump has made a decision that Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, is an indicted drug trafficker, that it&#8217;s time for him to go, that Venezuela and Colombia have been safe havens for narco-terrorists for too long.”
“I support that idea, but I think he has all the authority he needs,” Graham added after noting that Trump is expected to brief Congress on possible military operations in and around South America when he returns from a trip to Asia later this week.
The South Carolina senator cited operations ordered by former presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. The missions, which took place in Panama and Grenada, are precedents that should set the legal foundation for any land strikes against drug cartels ordered unilaterally by Trump.
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“When President Bush 41 took Ortega out in Panama, Reagan went into Grenada to deal with the Cuban influence from Grenada in our backyard – [Trump] has all the authority in the world,” said Graham. “This is not murder. This is protecting America from being poisoned by narco-terrorists coming from Venezuela and Colombia.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
U.S. land strikes on Venezuela are “a real possibility,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says, telling <a href="https://twitter.com/margbrennan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@margbrennan</a> President Trump plans to brief Congress about potentially expanding the U.S. military operations “from the sea to the land.”
“I support that idea. But I think he has… <a href="https://t.co/q7iBG7D0H7">pic.twitter.com/q7iBG7D0H7</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1982479665525613037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
Graham’s comments come days after the administration announced the U.S.S. Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group would move to the Caribbean. The Ford is the newest and most technologically advanced carrier in the U.S. fleet, signaling the seriousness with which the White House is approaching its fight against drug cartels and terror networks that are flooding the United States with dangerous and illicit drugs.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the Ford’s latest assignment in a <a href="https://x.com/SeanParnellASW/status/1981759934539985132">post</a> on X.
The aircraft carrier group “will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” said Parnell in a statement.

USS Gerald R. Ford

Lindsey Graham Says Trump ‘Has All The Authority He Needs’ To Strike Venezuela

Colombia

Global Politics

Lindsey Graham

World

B-1 bombers flew within about 50 miles from Venezuela on Thursday as the United States continues to strike drug boats departing from the South American country.
Asked about the flights during a panel discussion at the White House on Thursday, Trump denied that two B-1 Lancers had flown close to Venezuela.
“Not accurate,” said Trump when asked about a report of the flights published in <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-sends-b-1-bombers-near-venezuela-ramping-up-military-pressure-f9514126?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqct8eI22sfNUn8PGvMT7DHl2W8B7iN_X8snWbnKrunmfqdpycQEz-Md4hUOGko%3D&amp;gaa_ts=68fa9ec4&amp;gaa_sig=IV4Xvw66NaSXyHKSBQjdViniRSys-tsUYH-1XlguDWBRDhGAxnZ31FHaVYEEJbFRHkAQpSgCqiEJ3InLUBUiVA%3D%3D">The Wall Street Journal</a>. “No, it’s false, but we&#8217;re not happy with Venezuela for a lot of reasons. Drugs being one of them.”
The flights have been <a href="https://x.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1981454534548341183">tracked</a> on flight radars. The two bombers took off from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas on Thursday and flew near Venezuela, but remained over international waters, according to WSJ.
The flights followed a show of force last week when B-52 bombers and F-35B jet fighters operated by the U.S. Air Force and Marines flew near an island off the coast of Venezuela.
The U.S. military has blown up at least seven boats in international waters in the Caribbean said to be carrying deadly drugs to the United States, and another two boats in the Pacific. President Donald Trump has accused the leadership of Venezuela and Colombia of facilitating the transport of drugs in the United States.
Trump said on Thursday that drugs coming to the United States by water have plummeted because of military action, and he suggested that strikes could soon be conducted against drug cartels and narco-terrorists on land, as well.
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“Now, they’re coming in by land, and even the land is concerned because I told them that’s going to be next,” the president <a href="https://x.com/JewishWarrior13/status/1981470436345938164">said</a>. “We may go to the Congress and tell them about it, but I can’t imagine they would have any problem with it. I think, in fact, while we’re here, I think it’s a good idea, Pete, you go to Congress, you tell them about it. What are they going to do? Say, ‘gee, we don’t want to stop drugs pouring in?’ They’re killing 300,000 people per year.”
Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, on whom the Trump administration has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-hikes-bounty-on-venezuelas-maduro-to-50m">placed</a> a $50 million bounty, claimed on Wednesday that thousands of Russian-made anti-air missiles are placed strategically around the country to handle any threats from the air.
“Any military force in the world knows the power of the Igla-S and Venezuela has no less than 5,000” of the missiles, Maduro said, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/23/americas/maduro-trump-venezuela-military-intl-hnk">CNN</a>.
Last week, Trump said that Maduro has offered “everything” to the United States.
“He’s offered everything,” <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1979251067029246356">said</a> Trump. “You know why? Because he doesn&#8217;t want to f*** around with the United States.”

B-1B Bombers

B-1 Bombers Buzz Venezuela As Trump Floats ‘Land’ Strikes Against Drug Cartels

Drug Cartels

President Donald Trump closed out a Friday afternoon roundtable and gaggle with reporters by dropping the F-Bomb in response to a question about his administration&#8217;s position on Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
While hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, Trump was asked about Maduro recently offering the Trump administration a massive stake in Venezuela&#8217;s oil and mineral wealth.
&#8220;He has offered everything, you&#8217;re right,&#8221; Trump said to the reporter. &#8220;You know why? Because he doesn&#8217;t want to f*** around with the United States.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> on Maduro: &#8220;He has offered everything, you&#8217;re right. You know why? Because he doesn&#8217;t want to fuck around with the United States.&#8221; 🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://t.co/EhG7Eeaq7P">pic.twitter.com/EhG7Eeaq7P</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1979249952845934716?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump then dismissed the media after answering the question.
After Trump&#8217;s recent actions targeting drug trafficking from Venezuela, the Maduro regime offered to give American companies preferential treatment in existing and future oil and gold projects, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/world/americas/maduro-venezuela-us-oil.html">reported</a>. The Trump administration rejected the offer and ended efforts to reach a diplomatic solution with the Maduro regime.
The president has focused on Venezuela in his effort to crack down on illegal drug trafficking. In August, the United States <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-deploys-warships-near-venezuela-to-combat-drug-threats-sources-say?author=Reuters&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=U.S.+Deploys+Warships+Near+Venezuela+To+Combat+Drug+Threats%2C+Sources+Say">sent</a> three guided-missile destroyers to patrol off the coast of Venezuela as the administration addressed threats from drug cartels. Just weeks later, Trump began ordering military strikes on suspected drug runners in the Caribbean Sea. The U.S. military has taken out at least five boats that were suspected of transporting drugs to the United States. In those strikes, at least 27 suspected drug traffickers have been killed, U.S. officials said.
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After the most recent strike, a U.S. official told Fox News that two or three suspected drug runners <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-strike-targeting-suspected-drug-traffickers-leaves-survivors-report?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=U.S.+Strike+Targeting+Suspected+Drug+Traffickers+Leaves+Survivors%3A+Report">survived</a>, and a search and rescue helicopter was sent out.
Trump has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-administration-authorizes-covert-cia-action-in-venezuela">authorized</a> lethal covert CIA operations in Venezuela. The administration has accused Venezuela of helping migrants cross into the United States illegally.
“Many, many countries have done it, but not like Venezuela, they were down and dirty,” Trump said.
The United States currently has a $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Maduro. The State Department has accused the dictator of participating &#8220;in a corrupt and violent narco-terrorism conspiracy&#8221; and coordinating &#8220;with narcotics traffickers in Honduras and other countries to facilitate large-scale drug trafficking.&#8221;
Maduro was declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election, despite evidence showing that Edmundo González defeated the dictator at the polls. Maduro has moved to crack down on any opposition, forcing González into exile in Spain.

Trump Drops The Mic — And The F-Bomb — Answering Question About Venezuelan Dictator

Trump Drops The Mic — And The F-Bomb — Answering Question On Venezuelan Dictator

Drugs

Illegal Immigation

The Trump administration quietly greenlit a covert CIA operation in Venezuela against socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro, the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/us/politics/trump-covert-cia-action-venezuela.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Wednesday.
The CIA will now be authorized to carry out lethal operations in Venezuela, according to the news outlet. It is not clear, however, if there are any looming plans against Maduro or his regime.
President Donald Trump <a href="https://x.com/OrlvndoA/status/1978557056878514557" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed</a> the plan during a press conference Wednesday, stating that he authorized enhanced action over Venezuela’s role in criminal migrants crossing the southern border and the trafficking of lethal drugs killing Americans.
“They’ve allowed thousands and thousands of prisoners, people from mental institutions, insane asylums emptied out into the United States, we’re bring[ing] them back. But that’s a really bad thing,” Trump said, adding, “Many, many countries have done it, but not like Venezuela, they were down and dirty.”
Trump also said that the United States will not only interdict drugs at sea, but also “by land.”
“We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come through the sea, so you get to see that, but we&#8217;re gonna stop them by land also.”
“I think Venezuela’s feeling heat, but I think a lot of other countries are feeling heat too. We’re not going to let this country, our country, be ruined because other people want to drop their worst. They have given us their worst, they&#8217;ve loaded up our country with prisoners, with mentally ill people that are seriously ill, criminally ill, and we&#8217;re not gonna take it,” Trump said.
The Trump administration is already beefing up the presence of troops in the region, according to the Times.
Most of the 10,000 U.S. troops stationed in the Caribbean are currently in Puerto Rico, while some Marines are on amphibious assault ships and a submarine in the region.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-takes-out-another-boat-in-caribbean-killing-four-suspected-narco-terrorists" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> administration has taken out several drug cartel vessels in recent months, killing 27 suspected narco-terrorists in five kinetic strikes.
Maduro has called the strikes “a military attack on civilians who were not at war and were not militarily threatening any country,” while accusing the Trump administration of “seeking a regime change” in Venezuela.
Wes Tabor, who was in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s office in Caracas in 2012, recently told The Daily Wire that the Trump administration is “squeezing” the drug cartels.
“The permissive environment they long enjoyed is evaporating,” he said.
The United States has also offered a $50,000 <a href="https://www.state.gov/nicolas-maduro-moros" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reward</a> for information leading to Maduro’s arrest and conviction on drug trafficking charges, citing his alleged ties to transnational gangs and cartels.
Earlier this month, President Trump called for an end to diplomatic talks with the Maduro regime over the dictator’s refusal to step down from power, according to the Times.
<div>
<div></div>
</div>

VENEZUELA-MADURO-SECOND-TERM-INAUGURATION

Trump Administration Authorizes Covert CIA Action In Venezuela

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nobel-committee-announces-2025-peace-prize-winner-and-its-not-trump">awarded</a> the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, said that she was dedicating the award to President Donald Trump &#8220;for his decisive support of our cause.&#8221;
Machado, who has been targeted by the Nicolás Maduro regime in socialist Venezuela, was named the winner of this year&#8217;s Nobel Peace Prize for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and … her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.” Machado said that the prize is a &#8220;recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans,&#8221; adding that Venezuela is relying on Trump and the United States to help the country &#8220;achieve freedom and democracy.&#8221;
&#8220;I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!&#8221; Machado <a href="https://x.com/MariaCorinaYA/status/1976642376119549990">wrote</a>.
On his Truth Social account, President Donald Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115350523795713137">shared</a> a screenshot of a similar post from Machado. Earlier on Friday, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said that the Nobel Committee &#8220;proved they place politics over peace&#8221; by not awarding Trump the Nobel Peace Prize.
“President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives,” Cheung added. “He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will.”
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The deadline for this year’s nominations was January 31, just days after Trump had taken office for his second term. In recent weeks, however, there has been a chorus of world leaders arguing for Trump to receive the award after the president pushed numerous countries toward peace. The calls for Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize culminated when he successfully pressured Israel and Hamas to agree to the first phase of his 20-point peace plan this week.
Trump will likely be nominated again for the prize in 2026.
Machado&#8217;s Nobel Peace Prize comes as she remains in hiding after the Venezuelan government claimed that Maduro won the 2024 election, despite evidence showing that Machado&#8217;s ally Edmundo González defeated the dictator at the polls. González was backed by Machado after the socialist government barred Machado from holding political office. In the lead-up to the election and in its aftermath, Maduro’s regime repressed dissent and jailed opposition leaders. Machado has been hiding out since January, and González is living in exile in Spain.
In January, days before he was sworn into office, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113800699320833807">praised</a> Machado and González for &#8220;peacefully expressing the voices and the WILL of the Venezuelan people with hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating against the regime.&#8221; The Trump administration has also placed a $50 million bounty on Maduro and increased sanctions on the country earlier this year after its fraudulent election.

Donald Trump/ María Corina Machado

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dedicates Award To Trump For His ‘Decisive Support’

General

Nobel Peace Prize

The United States is not talking about regime change in Venezuela, President Donald Trump said on Friday, as the United States ordered an additional 10 stealth fighter jets to a military buildup in the Caribbean.
&#8220;We&#8217;re not talking about that, but we are talking about the fact that you had an election which was a very strange election, to put it mildly,&#8221; Trump said, referring to the contested 2024 election the Venezuelan government says President Nicolas Maduro won.
Trump had been asked by reporters about a claim Maduro has made this week that the United States was seeking &#8220;regime change through military threat.&#8221;
&#8220;The government of the United States should abandon its plan of violent regime change in Venezuela and in all of Latin America and respect sovereignty, the right to peace, to independence,&#8221; Maduro said on state television.
&#8220;I respect Trump. None of the differences we&#8217;ve had can lead to a military conflict,&#8221; Maduro added. &#8220;Venezuela has always been willing to converse, to dialogue.&#8221;
Trump demonstrated his new approach to fighting the drug war with a U.S. military strike on Tuesday that killed 11 people and sank a boat from Venezuela which Trump said was transporting illegal narcotics.
The U.S. president is weighing options for further strikes, including potentially attacking suspected drug cartel targets inside Venezuela, CNN reported on Friday, citing multiple sources briefed on the administration&#8217;s plans. Such a strike would mark a major escalation.
The White House, Pentagon and State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the report.
The Trump administration has ordered the deployment of 10 F-35 fighter jets to a Puerto Rico airfield to conduct operations against drug cartels, sources told Reuters on Friday.
The new deployment comes on top of an already bristling U.S. military presence in the southern Caribbean as Trump carries out a campaign pledge to crack down on groups funneling drugs into the United States.
The disclosure about the F-35s came just hours after the Pentagon accused Venezuela of a &#8220;highly provocative&#8221; flight on Thursday by fighter jets near a U.S. Navy warship.
Trump warned Venezuela that the U.S. military had authorization to shoot down the jets if commanders believed they needed to, saying: &#8220;If they do put us in a dangerous position, they&#8217;ll be shot down.&#8221;
At every turn, the Trump administration has sought to tie Maduro&#8217;s government to narco trafficking, allegations Caracas denies.
Specifically, Trump has accused Maduro of running the Tren de Aragua gang, which his administration designated a terrorist organization in February. Maduro has denied any connection to Tren de Aragua, which his government says was rendered inactive in Venezuela by a prison raid in 2023.
Trump on Friday compared the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans in overdoses to war dead, as he sought to justify the muscular military activity in the Caribbean.
&#8220;Think if you&#8217;re in a war and you lose 300,000 &#8230; We&#8217;re not going to allow it to happen,&#8221; he said.
Venezuela&#8217;s Communications Ministry did not respond to a request for comment about the F-35s or the allegations that Venezuelan fighter jets flew over a U.S. warship.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity about the latest U.S. deployment, said the 10 fighter jets are being sent to conduct operations against designated narco-terrorist organizations operating in the southern Caribbean. The planes should arrive in the area by late next week, they said.
F-35s are highly advanced stealth fighters and would be effective in combat against Venezuela&#8217;s air force, which includes F-16 aircraft.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two Venezuelan F-16s flew over the guided missile destroyer Jason Dunham on Thursday. The Dunham is one of at least seven U.S. warships deployed to the Caribbean, carrying more than 4,500 sailors and Marines.
U.S. Marines and sailors from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit have also been carrying out amphibious training and flight operations in southern Puerto Rico.
The buildup has put pressure on Maduro, whom U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called &#8220;effectively a kingpin of a drug narco state.&#8221;
Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. military had identified the crew of the vessel as Tren de Aragua members.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Phil Stewart; Editing by Scott Malone, Edwina Gibbs, Mark Porter, Alistair Bell and William Mallard)

Trump Downplays Possible Regime Change In Venezuela; U.S. Deploys Stealth Fighter Jets

Venezuela on Thursday answered a U.S. strike on a suspected drug-running vessel by flying two fighter jets over a U.S. destroyer that was conducting anti-narco-terrorism patrols off its coast.
The two armed Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets flew over the USS Jason Dunham, an Aegis guided-missile destroyer, in an action that Defense Department officials described as a “show of force.” The United States responded on Friday by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-deploying-10-fighter-jets-puerto-rico-drug-cartel-fight-sources-say-2025-09-05/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">significantly ramping up</a> its regional military presence, deploying 10 F‑35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico, two sources told Reuters.
The Pentagon released a warning on X, saying on Thursday: “Today, two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations. The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the US military.”
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<a href="https://t.co/PSxm3uRsfM">pic.twitter.com/PSxm3uRsfM</a>
&mdash; Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeptofDefense/status/1963775938233299235?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the American strike on the alleged narcotics smuggling boat that reportedly killed 11 people on board, posting on X, “Today the U.S. military conducted a lethal strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela and was being operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization.”
The strike occurred against the backdrop of a deepening standoff between President Donald Trump and Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. In early August, Trump <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-freezes-venezuela-government-assets-in-escalation-of-tensions/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">froze Venezuelan government assets</a> — the most sweeping action against Maduro’s regime in decades — and slapped a $50 million bounty on Maduro, calling him a global drug trafficker. Maduro responded by <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/venezuela-maduro-says-no-way-us-can-invade-warships-deployed/">mobilizing</a> more than 15,000 troops along the Colombian border, boasting, “There’s no way they can enter Venezuela.”
In August, Trump directed the Pentagon to deploy U.S. troops and warships amid mounting “threats to U.S. national security from specially designated narco‑terrorist organizations” operating in the region, according to Reuters.
The U.S. Department of Justice in the first Trump administration<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52053799?utm_source=chatgpt.com"> indicted</a> Maduro and 14 senior officials on charges of narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, and corruption in 2020. It alleged a decades-long alliance with the FARC (a Marxist guerrilla group once considered one of the most powerful insurgent and narco-terrorist organizations in Latin America) to flood the United States with cocaine via the so-called Cartel of the Suns — a military-run trafficking network. A $15 million reward was offered for information leading to Maduro’s arrest.

Venezuela Taunts U.S. Navy, Pentagon Fires Back

Jets From Socialist Venezuela Taunt U.S. Destroyer — Pentagon Fires Back

narco-terrorism

President Donald Trump posted a video on Tuesday of a United States military strike against Tren de Aragua drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea.
The strike took place in international waters and killed nearly a dozen terrorist cartel members carrying illicit drugs, Trump said. A video of the strike showed a small boat motoring through water before bursting into flame.
“Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere,” he added. “The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States.”
“The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!” Trump concluded. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!!!!!!”
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<a href="https://t.co/vEVGYVgLAg">pic.twitter.com/vEVGYVgLAg</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1962990388211228951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
The president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-deploys-forces-to-take-on-latin-american-drug-cartels-in-the-southern-caribbean">ordered</a> U.S. military assets to the south Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela last month to counter drug cartels, which his administration has classified as foreign terrorist organizations. The president has ratcheted up pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, who the United States has targeted as a top cartel official.
In August, the United States <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-hikes-bounty-on-venezuelas-maduro-to-50m">doubled</a> its bounty on information leading to Maduro’s arrest from $25 million to $50 million.
“Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like TDA, Sinaloa, and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country. To date, the DEA has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“The DOJ has seized over $700 million of Maduro-linked assets, including two private jets, nine vehicles, and more,” she added. “Yet, Maduro’s reign of terror continues. He is one of the largest narco traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security.”

U.S. Drone Strikes Cartel Drug Boat, Trump Posts Video For World To See: ‘BEWARE!’

Crime

Tren De Aragua

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday afternoon that American forces had taken out a “drug-carrying boat” coming out of Venezuela.
Trump made the comments during a press conference from the White House announcing that Space Command will be moving its headquarters from Colorado to Alabama. He said that the Joint Chiefs of Staff had briefed him just before the press conference.
“When you come out and when you leave the room, you’ll see that we just, over the last few minutes literally, shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat. And you’ll be seeing that, and you’ll be reading about that,” Trump said.
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🚨 <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: We just, over the last few minutes, shot out a drug-carrying boat&#8230; and there&#8217;s more where that came from&#8230; These came out of Venezuela. <a href="https://t.co/JlurCZWBpG">pic.twitter.com/JlurCZWBpG</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1962955342523879613?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
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“It just happened moments ago and our great general, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has been so incredible, including what took place in Iran knocking out potential nuclear power for a long time to come … he gave us a little bit of a briefing. And you’ll see. There&#8217;s more where that came from. We have a lot of drugs pouring into our country. Coming in for a long time,” he added.
He said that the boat came out of Venezuela. “We took it out and you’ll get to see that after this meeting is over,” Trump said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the strike in a post on X.
“As [Trump] just announced moments ago, today the U.S. military conducted a lethal strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela and was being operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization,” Rubio posted on X.
The strike comes as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maduro-accuses-u-s-of-seeking-a-regime-change-after-trump-deploys-military-to-south-caribbean">tensions have been rising</a> between Trump and Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. Last month, Trump directed the Pentagon to deploy U.S. troops and warships to address “threats to U.S. national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region,” according to Reuters.
The Trump administration has accused Maduro and his government of taking part in massive drug trafficking operations that smuggle narcotics into the United States. The government recently increased the bounty on Maduro to $50 million, citing his alleged ties to transnational gangs and drug cartels.

President Trump Makes Announcement In The Oval Office Of The White House

Trump Says Military Took Out Venezuelan Boat Carrying ‘A Lot Of Drugs’

Marco Rubio

Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro said on Monday that the United States is seeking to oust him after President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-deploys-forces-to-take-on-latin-american-drug-cartels-in-the-southern-caribbean?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=U.S.+Deploys+Forces+To+Take+On+Latin+American+Drug+Cartels+In+The+Southern+Caribbean">deployed</a> the military to the Southern Caribbean to take on Latin American drug cartels.
Speaking to journalists, Maduro said that Venezuela must confront &#8220;the biggest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years,&#8221; adding, &#8220;They are seeking a regime change through military threat,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/maduro-claims-us-seeks-regime-change-military-threat-caribbean-buildup">reported</a>. The Venezuelan leader said that his country is &#8220;super prepared&#8221; to address any threats to its sovereignty.
&#8220;A situation like this has never been seen,&#8221; he added.
Last month, Trump directed the Pentagon to deploy U.S. troops and warships to address &#8220;threats to U.S. national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region,&#8221; according to Reuters. The Trump administration has accused Maduro and his government of taking part in massive drug trafficking operations that smuggle narcotics into the United States. The government recently increased the bounty on Maduro to $50 million, citing his alleged ties to transnational gangs and drug cartels.
After President Trump took office in January, the State Department also designated the Venezuelan international criminal gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA), as a foreign terrorist organization. The State Department also recently added the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles to the foreign terrorist list.
The United States recognized Maduro&#8217;s opponent, Edmundo González, as the rightful leader of Venezuela after the Maduro regime appeared to rig the 2024 election to keep the socialist leader in power. González was forced to flee to Spain after Venezuelan authorities announced that Maduro had won the election.
On August 18, three U.S. guided-missile destroyers headed to the Southern Caribbean near the Venezuelan coast, and a U.S. official <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-deploys-warships-near-venezuela-to-combat-drug-threats-sources-say?author=Reuters&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=U.S.+Deploys+Warships+Near+Venezuela+To+Combat+Drug+Threats%2C+Sources+Say">told</a> Reuters that around 4,000 sailors and Marines were also expected to be deployed to the region as part of Trump&#8217;s crackdown on drug cartels.
The president has made it a priority to stop the flow of deadly drugs, such as fentanyl, into the United States and take on drug cartels and criminal gangs — both inside and outside of the country. Trump <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCGjPpNG4xA">said</a> during his joint address to Congress in March that &#8220;the cartels are waging war on America, and it&#8217;s time for America to wage war on the cartels.&#8221;
The Trump administration also worked out deals with Mexico to bring incarcerated drug lords to U.S. soil, where they can face charges. Last week, former drug lord El Mayo — a co-founder of the powerful Mexican Sinaloa cartel — <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bondi-cartel-kingpin-will-die-in-a-u-s-federal-prison-where-he-belongs">pleaded guilty</a> to racketeering.
“Thanks to the relentless work of our prosecutors and our federal agents, El Mayo will spend the rest of his life behind bars. He will die in a U.S. federal prison where he belongs,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “His guilty plea brings us one step closer to achieving our goal of the elimination of the drug cartels and the transnational criminal organizations throughout this world that are flooding our country with drugs and human traffickers and homicides.”
While the United States has successfully extradited former drug lords from Mexico, the Mexican government opposes the United States deploying any troops to the country. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mexican-president-says-u-s-military-will-not-fight-drug-cartels-on-its-soil">said</a> last month, “That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out. It is not part of any agreement, far from it. When it has been brought up, we have always said no.”

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