Brendan Cole
President Donald Trump's policy of attacks on vessels he says are linked to the drug trade and the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro could lead to the U.S. leader ordering air strikes on narcotics sites in the South American country, an analyst has told Newsweek.
Trump announced Tuesday a U.S. military strike on a boat off the coast of Venezuela purportedly linked to drug trafficking and terrorist networks and posted video of the strike he said killed six people.
There have been a number of similar attacks in recent weeks, coinciding with a U.S. military buildup in the southern Caribbean involving F-35 aircraft in Puerto Rico, eight U.S. warships and one nuclear-powered submarine.
Prior to Tuesday’s strike, Zev Faintuch, from security firm Global Guardian, told Newsweek that Trump is likely to increase the pressure on Maduro with more strikes on vessels, and may even order attacks on sites inside Venezuela.
“It's about putting the regime in a situation where there's only bad options,” Faintuch said.
Washington linked it directly to the regime of Maduro, whom the U.S. does not recognize as the president of Venezuela, following 2024 elections he is accused of stealing.
The latest strikes show a more aggressive U.S. counternarcotics policy in the Western Hemisphere, raising concerns about unilateral military force in the region.
What To Know
Trump announced Tuesday he had ordered a “lethal kinetic strike” in international waters near Venezuela on a vessel allegedly linked to a designated terrorist organization, without specifying which group.
Trump posted on TruthSocial a video which appeared to show a stationary vessel in a body of water being hit with a projectile before exploding.
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