Venezuela

The Trump administration is rapidly escalating its pressure campaign against Venezuela, with America’s largest aircraft carrier, the Ford, about to take up a position within striking distance of the country, even as President Trump’s aides provide conflicting accounts of what, exactly, they are seeking to achieve.

Mr. Trump held back-to-back days of meetings at the White House over the past two days, reviewing military options, including the use of Special Operations forces and direct action inside Venezuela.

It is still not clear whether Mr. Trump has made a decision about what kind of action to authorize, if any. On Friday, he told reporters on Air Force One that “I sort of made up my mind.” “I can’t tell you what it is,” he said, “but we made a lot of progress with Venezuela in terms of stopping drugs from pouring in.”

The drone circled high above the Caribbean Sea as its target skipped across the waves below carrying another bounty of drugs bound for America.

A sudden flash and the boat was engulfed in flames, its cargo disintegrated and its 11 crew dead.

Donald Trump had just fired the opening shot of a new campaign against “terrorist” cartels in Latin America. The strike, he declared, was “only the beginning”.

If you know somebody who lost their job over something they said about Charlie Kirk Venezuelan Narco boats need captains pic.twitter.com/2iH1bDG6X3

— “Dark30Arts” Jess & Nick (@Dark30Arts) October 22, 2025

Donald Trump has deployed one of the Army’s most secretive regiments in the Caribbean after threatening strikes inside Venezuela.

The president warned socialist tyrant Nicolas Maduro that he better not ‘f*** around with the United States’ as he spoke to reporters at the White House on Friday.

Trump has ordered five strikes over the last two months on Venezuelan ‘narco-terrorist’ boats in the Caribbean, killing at least 27 alleged drug traffickers.

US President Donald Trump has confirmed a report he authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, provoking outrage from the South American nation’s leader.

US forces have already conducted at least five strikes on suspected drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean in recent weeks, killing 27 people. UN-appointed human rights experts have described the raids as “extrajudicial executions”.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said the US “is looking at land” as it considers further strikes on drug cartels in the region.

President Trump destroyed another boat full of narco terrorists. pic.twitter.com/YqwDxE4ih9

— RebelwithoutaReason (@RebelwoaReason) October 14, 2025

The mayor of Caracas had come to one of her city’s busiest tube stations wearing a camouflage T-shirt declaring herself a card-carrying combatant – and with a message to match.

“They think they’re the owners of the world,” Carmen Meléndez complained of the Trump administration and its pressure campaign against Venezuela’s government. “But if they dare [to invade] we’ll be waiting for them here.”

Meléndez said she hoped a US invasion was not on the horizon, even though they had shown themselves to be “a bunch of crazies, who are capable of anything”. “But if it does happen we are ready,” she added, “and we will use all of the weapons we have to defend the homeland.”

WASHINGTON — The US military killed four alleged “narco-terrorists” in the latest strike on a boat deemed to be trafficking drugs off the coast of Venezuela, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Friday.

The operation targeted a “vessel affiliated with designated terrorist organizations,” killing four men who were “transporting substantial amounts of narcotics headed to America to poison our people,” Hegseth wrote on X.

BREAKING: Drug boat heading to the US from Venezuela just blown up by the US military. 4 smugglers kiIIed. pic.twitter.com/BpiVuszYB8

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 3, 2025

When Edith Perales was younger, he enlisted in the National Bolivarian Militia, a civilian force created by the late President Hugo Chávez in 2009 to help defend Venezuela.

“We have to be a country capable of defending every last inch of our territory so no one comes to mess with us,” Chávez said at the time.

Sixteen years on, Perales, who is now 68, is joining thousands of other militia members getting ready for a potential US attack.

At the Doral Park Country Club outside Miami, fevered machinations are under way to overthrow a dictator. For years, in this palm-lined enclave, Venezuelan exiles have schemed to pressure US politicians to bring down Nicolás Maduro, convinced history would one day turn in their favour.

Now they believe it has. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state who is the son of Cuban immigrants, has worked to convince President Trump that Maduro is not only a socialist dictator, but a “narco-terrorist” out to destroy the United States with boat-loads of fentanyl-laced cocaine weaponised to poison American children.

President Donald Trump has said US forces carried out a “lethal kinetic strike” on a vessel which he said was trafficking drugs, and the attack killed three “male narcoterrorists” on board.

Trump said he ordered the attack on the boat, which was in the US Southern Command’s area of responsibility, after US intelligence confirmed it was trafficking drugs. It was the third such strike on alleged drug boats in recent weeks.

Trump’s statement on Truth Social on Friday said the strike happened in international waters. The US Southern Command’s area of responsibility covers most of South America and the Caribbean.

BREAKING – US President Donald Trump releases another drone visual showing a US military Airstrike against a Narco boat in the Carribbean sea originating from Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/T7Q2tvZUs7

— All Patriots Network A.P.N. (@AllPatriotsNet) September 20, 2025

Venezuela says it has begun three days of military exercises on its Caribbean island of La Orchila as tensions soar amid US military activity in the region.

Forces deployed for what Washington called an anti-drug operation have blown up at least two Venezuelan boats and a combined 14 people allegedly transporting drugs across the Caribbean this month – a move slammed by UN experts as “extrajudicial execution”.

The strikes and a deployment of US warships in the region have raised fears of an invasion in Venezuela, whose president, Nicolás Maduro, has been accused by Washington of being a cartel leader.

WASHINGTON — President Trump announced Monday that the US military had carried out a second strike against purported drug traffickers from Venezuela in international waters.

Three “male terrorists” were killed, Trump announced on Truth Social.

BREAKING: On President Trump’s orders, the U.S. military just conducted a SECOND kinetic strike on a drug boat with narcoterrorists headed to the U.S.

Trump is RAINING HELL on the cartels

TRUMP WROTE: “This morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a SECOND… pic.twitter.com/PRwwpGwZyH

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 15, 2025

Trump says SOUTHCOM struck another boat this morning carrying drugs and "narcoterrorists from Venezuela"

"BE WARNED — IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU!" pic.twitter.com/iN6Fg5QMbj

— Matt Rice (@matt____rice) September 15, 2025

President Trump shared dramatic footage of the US military obliterating a boat carrying drugs and Tren de Aragua gangbangers off the coast of Venezuela.

The video showed the small boat being blown out of international waters and exploding into flames after it was struck by a single missile on Tuesday, killing all onboard.

BREAKING: President Trump just released the video of the U.S. military STRIKING a drug boat from Venezuela heading to America carrying ELEVEN Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists, who were kiIIed in the strike

TRUMP: “Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces… pic.twitter.com/axQAWxjJhm

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 2, 2025

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday offered a $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

“Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like [Tren de Aragua], Sinaloa and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a video posted on X.

Today, @TheJusticeDept and @StateDept are announcing a $50 MILLION REWARD for information leading to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro. pic.twitter.com/D8LNqjS9yk

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) August 7, 2025

h/t Canucklehead