The Trump administration is reportedly preparing air and naval strikes against military targets in Venezuela as part of a major campaign against drug cartels operating under Nicolás Maduro’s socialist regime.
According to the Miami Herald, U.S. officials have identified several installations tied to the Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles networks.
Both groups are accused of using Venezuela’s ports and airfields to move narcotics throughout the region.
Sources told the outlet that the strikes could begin within days as American forces tighten pressure on Maduro.
One official said Maduro’s options are running out fast.
“He’s about to find himself trapped and might soon discover that he cannot flee the country even if he decided to,” the source said. “What’s worse for him, there is now more than one general willing to capture and hand him over.”
President Donald Trump and his national security team view Maduro as a direct threat to U.S. national security.
They accuse him of turning Venezuela into a narcotics hub used to harm Americans.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is reportedly one of the architects of the strategy to dismantle the networks supporting Maduro’s rule, according to Trending Politics.
“You have a narco-state in Venezuela run by a cartel,” Rubio said last week. “This is an operation against narco-terrorists, the al Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere, and they need to be dealt with.”
The administration’s decision follows a series of coordinated military movements across the Caribbean.
Trump has already deployed the most significant American force to the region since the end of the Cold War, signaling an apparent readiness for confrontation.
U.S. troops and aircraft have carried out at least 13 strikes on smuggling vessels since early September, killing 57 suspected traffickers and destroying several boats carrying narcotics.
The move comes as Trump intensifies his efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis, which killed roughly 70,000 Americans in 2023 and contributed to nearly 70 percent of all overdose deaths.
White House officials said the president’s focus remains on stopping the flow of drugs from Latin America.
“President Trump has been clear in his message to Maduro: stop sending drugs and criminals to our country,” spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. “The president is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our homeland.”
While most fentanyl enters through Mexico using precursor chemicals from China, officials say Venezuela’s role as a transit point for Colombian cocaine has made it a key target.
U.S. intelligence agencies believe Maduro’s government has deepened its partnerships with cartels to maintain political control and fund military operations.
If authorized, the strikes would mark one of the most aggressive foreign-policy actions of Trump’s second term. It would send a direct message to regimes accused of fueling America’s drug epidemic.
As one defense official put it, “This time, there’s no warning shot. The message is clear — stop the poison or face the consequences.”
The latest revelation comes a day after Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
China is an ally of Venezuela, with both countries sharing a similar government philosophy.
