WASHINGTON — President Trump said Wednesday that the administration is considering targeting Venezuela-based drug cartels on land after taking out about half a dozen drug smuggling vessels.
“We are certainly looking at land now because we’ve got the sea under control,” he said in response to a reporter’s question in the Oval Office.
“A lot of Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea. So you get to see that, but we’re going to stop them by land also.”
Trump previously has threatened to expand his anti-drug military operation to land-based targets after beginning to bomb Venezuelan ships on Sept. 2.
The president also confirmed Wednesday that he had authorized the CIA to engage in clandestine anti-government operations inside the South American country.
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Trump declined to say whether he has authorized the CIA to “take out” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the US government accuses of facilitating drug smuggling.
“Wouldn’t it be a ridiculous question for me to answer?” he said. “But I think Venezuela is feeling heat.”
Trump said that he is bombing boats, believed to have killed at least 27 alleged “narco-terrorists,” because the Coast Guard had been unable to halt the flow after “30 years” of interception attempts at sea.
He said that the smugglers operate with fast speed boats — but not faster than missiles.
Three American B-52 bombers were spotted flying above the waters outside Venezuela on Wednesday in an apparent show of force, according to online flight trackers.
The Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment on the mission.
