Trump again says land strikes on Venezuela drug shipments coming soon
This comes amid the seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker this week, an act President Nicolas Maduro condemned as "naval piracy".
US forces abseil onto an oil tanker during a raid described by US Attorney General Pam Bondi as its seizure by the United States off the coast of Venezuela, Dec 10, 2025, in a still image from video. (Photo: REUTERS/US Attorney General)
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday (Dec 11) that Washington will soon begin strikes to interdict narcotics shipments making their way from Venezuela to the United States via land routes.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to begin strikes on narcotics being smuggled overland in recent weeks. US forces killed six more people in strikes on alleged drug-running boats, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday, bringing the campaign's total number of deaths, which critics describe as illegal executions, to 76.
Washington is also preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil following the seizure of a tanker this week, as it increases pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, six sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday (Dec 11).
The seizure was the first interdiction of an oil cargo or tanker from Venezuela, which has been under US sanctions since 2019. The action came as the US executes a large-scale military build-up in the southern Caribbean and as Trump campaigns for Maduro's ouster.
Maduro on Thursday slammed the seizure, calling it an act of "naval piracy" that escalated tensions between Washington and Caracas.
"They kidnapped the crew, stole the ship and have inaugurated a new era, the era of criminal naval piracy in the Caribbean," he said at a presidential event, adding: "Venezuela will secure all ships to guarantee the free trade of its oil around the world."
The seizure has put shipowners, operators and maritime agencies involved in transporting Venezuelan crude on alert, with many reconsidering whether to sail from Venezuelan waters in the coming days as planned, shipping sources said.
Further direct interventions by the US are expected in the coming weeks targeting ships carrying Venezuelan oil that may also have transported oil from other countries targeted by US sanctions, such as Iran, according to the sources familiar with the matter who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
TANKER TARGET LIST
Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA did not reply to a request for comment. Venezuela's government this week said the US seizure constituted a "theft." The White House National Security Council did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The US has assembled a target list of several more sanctioned tankers for possible seizure, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
The US Justice Department and Homeland Security had been planning the seizures for months, according to two of the people.
A reduction or halt in Venezuelan oil exports, the main generator of revenue for the Venezuelan government, would strain the Maduro government's finances.
The new US approach focuses on the activities of what is called the shadow fleet of tankers that transports sanctioned oil to China, the largest buyer of crude from Venezuela and Iran. A single vessel will often make separate runs on behalf of Iran, Venezuela and Russia, the sources added.
The seizure of the tanker, carrying the name Skipper, caused at least one shipper to temporarily suspend the voyages of three freshly loaded shipments totalling almost 6 million barrels of Venezuela's flagship export grade, Merey, sources said.
