Trump Threatens Land Strikes in Venezuela as U.S. Targets Maduro’s Narco-State Lifeline

President Donald Trump warned Tuesday that U.S. forces will soon strike targets inside Venezuela, escalating a months-long maritime campaign into a direct assault on what Washington calls Nicolás Maduro’s true source of power: a state-protected narcotrafficking network that sanctions have failed to disrupt.

“We’re going to start doing those strikes on land, too,” Trump said. “The land is much easier… We know the routes they take. We know where the bad ones live.”

The threat follows more than 20 U.S. attacks on alleged drug boats since September under Operation Southern Spear, an unprecedented show of force that has killed over 80 suspected traffickers, according to reports cited by Reuters.

Why the U.S. is hitting drug networks

For years, the regime survived global isolation by replacing shrinking oil income with highly profitable criminal revenue streams — especially cocaine trafficking and illegal gold mining — that are largely untouched by economic sanctions.

In a December 3rd interview, Carlos Sánchez Berzaín, director of the Inter-American Institute for Democracy, described the regime’s evolution: “When oil revenues were no longer sufficient, the regime resorted to the most profitable route: drug trafficking… Those who were in power became the mafia.”

He added that the shift is not merely about recent U.S. terrorist designations of the Cartel de los Soles, but about a broader strategic shift: “The real turning point is the change in U.S. foreign policy,” Sánchez Berzaín said, noting that multiple Latin American countries are now aligning with a hemispheric anti-narcoterrorism strategy.

According to Transparencia Venezuela, illicit economies tied to narcotrafficking and illegal mining generated billions for regime-aligned networks — now more important than oil for regime survival.

This is why Washington argues that targeting drug routes is the only form of financial pressure Maduro cannot easily absorb or evade.

Former intelligence chief: trafficking network was designed to “attack the U.S. from within”

A newly surfaced letter from Hugo “Pollo” Carvajal, Maduro’s former military intelligence chief — now cooperating with U.S. authorities — alleges that Venezuela’s narcotrafficking operations were conceived as a strategic weapon.

In excerpts published by ABC and La Patilla, Carvajal wrote that the regime embedded loyal operatives within trafficking circuits abroad:

The network, he warned, was created to “attack the United States from within,” placing regime-linked agents in U.S. territory under the cover of criminal operations.

Carvajal’s testimony reinforces the national-security rationale behind Trump’s escalation: that Venezuela’s criminal statecraft is not incidental corruption but intentional strategy.

Inside Venezuela, the opposition says the narco-structure — not just Maduro — must fall

In a letter this week to The Wall Street Journal, opposition leader María Corina Machado argued that Venezuela is not facing a debate over “regime change” but fighting a criminal system masquerading as a government.

“For years, Venezuela has been held hostage by a criminal enterprise… It has turned our country into a hub for illicit networks aligned with global enemies of freedom.”

Machado argues that U.S. support is not interventionism but “a principled alignment with a people who have already decided their future,” and warns that democracy cannot be restored unless the regime’s criminal revenue engines are dismantled.

“A democratic transition in Venezuela would dismantle a criminal sanctuary that has fueled instability throughout the region,” she wrote.

Her argument aligns with Washington’s logic: removing Maduro without eliminating the trafficking networks would simply leave the narco-state intact under new management.

Critics warn of legal risks; hawks say only decisive pressure works

Human-rights groups and several lawmakers warn that the maritime strikes raise serious questions under international law and could amount to extrajudicial killings. A bipartisan group in Congress is preparing a War Powers challenge if Trump launches strikes on Venezuelan soil.

Yet supporters in Washington argue that only credible force can change the regime’s behavior. Senator Lindsey Graham pushed back against Pope Leo’s calls for restraint, arguing on X that “a credible threat of force” is essential to dealing with Maduro’s narcotrafficking apparatus.

Maduro defiant — and dancing

At a rally in Caracas this week, Maduro alternated between denouncing U.S. “aggression” and dancing to tropical music — a segment that went viral in Venezuelan media.

Behind the scenes, The New York Times reports he has increased personal security, rotated safe-houses, and deepened reliance on Cuban counterintelligence — signs that the threat is being taken seriously.

Are the strikes making a difference? Early signs point to financial strain

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claims the campaign has disrupted the majority of maritime trafficking tied to Venezuela — a figure impossible to independently verify, but consistent with reports of traffickers rerouting loads through longer, more expensive corridors.

Transparencia Venezuela and regional security analysts say profit margins for regime-linked operators are tightening as air and sea interdiction increase operational costs.

Sánchez Berzaín says coordinated actions across the hemisphere are beginning to shrink the safe space for Venezuela’s narco-operations — a shift not seen in years.

What comes next?

The Wall Street Journal editorial board warned this week that Trump has entered a “high-stakes showdown” with global implications: either Maduro leaves, or Trump loses credibility after deploying an invasion-sized naval force to the Caribbean.

Machado argues that Venezuelans already chose democracy in the 2024 election and expect international partners to help restore constitutional order seized by a criminal elite.

As land strikes loom, analysts say the regime is confronting pressure where it feels most exposed: on the illicit financial system that sustains its power, and in the credible threat of U.S. military action — including strikes on Venezuelan soil — that keeps senior officials awake at night.