President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that the administration will brief Congress soon on planned operations in Venezuela and said, “I think we’re just going to kill the people who are bringing drugs into our country. We’re going to kill them.”
He did not describe what the operations will entail but said the United States will continue to blow up alleged drug boats, and that “just last week” he had authorized “the secret service CIA” to conduct covert operations on Venezuelan territory, according to his remarks.
Trump said the actions were prompted by two concerns: a large amount of drugs coming to the United States from Venezuela and the Venezuelan government releasing many prisoners and sending them to the U.S. He did not provide evidence for either claim.
The Venezuelan government said the decision violates international law. President Nicolás Maduro called it an attempt to legitimize a “regime change” and said the CIA wants to organize a “coup.”
Earlier, Trump accused Maduro of complicity with drug cartels and smuggling to the United States. Tensions between the two countries have risen in recent weeks, officials and statements show.
Since early September, the U.S. military has carried out attacks on nine alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. At least 37 people have been killed in those attacks.
The attacks at sea are controversial because they take place in international waters and because people on the boats have been attacked without first being arrested or questioned, critics say.
The U.S. government has designated several drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations.” The United States has also increased its military presence near Venezuela, including a dozen F-35s and about 10,000 military personnel stationed in nearby Puerto Rico and several Navy ships in the Caribbean Sea.
Venezuela has deployed a combination of military, police and “civil defense” forces at 284 “front positions” on its borders, the government said.
