The U.S. Declares War on Drug Cartels: B-52s Deployed Near Venezuela, CIA Operations Approved by Trump
The United States is stepping up its military mission against drug smugglers operating out of Venezuela. The Air Force and Navy have already intercepted several ships that, according to Washington, are used by drug cartels to smuggle narcotics into the United States. The Americans have therefore significantly increased their military presence in the southern Caribbean and sent a pair of B-52 bombers and a fleet of helicopters to the area not only as a show of force, but also to support operations against smugglers. President Donald Trump has also authorized CIA operations in the area and is considering strikes on land.
The current US administration likes to present its achievements with pomp and circumstance and in quick succession after announcing its plans to achieve them, but the war on drugs (alongside the war in Ukraine, for example) is one of the most pressing domestic problems and there is still no end in sight. Various previous administrations have promised to win it for decades, and although there have been partial successes, such as cooperation with countries in South and Central America, from where most drugs from abroad, especially cocaine and fentanyl, are destined for the US, the crisis on American streets, particularly associated with the latter substance, persists. For this reason, and also as a message to the domestic audience, Donald Trump has decided to tighten the overall approach to monitoring and intervention against drug smuggling routes.
One of the routes that cartels like to use is by sea – from Venezuela and other neighboring countries northward to Florida and the surrounding area. However, Venezuela and the socialist regime of dictator Nicolás Maduro allow the drug business to operate openly at the highest levels of the state, making Maduro the effective head of one of the largest cartels, which, although unofficially existing within Venezuela's state drug structures, has also acquired its own name: Cartel de los Soles, or the Cartel of the Suns. This is one of the reasons why Caracas has long been in Washington's sights, and according to the Americans, the elimination of Maduro's regime goes hand in hand with the dismantling of the local drug scene. The US has therefore struck at sea and against ships departing from the Venezuelan coast.
#WATCH: President Trump Announces U.S. Strike Has Been Carried Out, Taking Out Six Narco-Terrorists On A Boat, Off The Coast Of📍Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/pN4qOxBw6v
— 401_da_sarpanch (@401_da_sarpanch) October 14, 2025
"Intelligence services have confirmed that the vessel was carrying drugs and is linked to illegal narco-terrorist networks and was sailing along a known smuggling route. The attack was carried out in international waters and killed six narco-terrorists on board. No US forces were injured," US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social network after one of the latest such US attacks, attaching a video showing the destruction of the ship from the air. The Americans have already carried out more than five such operations. Dozens of smugglers are believed to have been killed in these attacks.
The Americans are increasing military pressure on Venezuela by generally increasing the presence of ships and aircraft in the southern Caribbean. At least two B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers, which took off from a base in Louisiana, are now regularly patrolling the area on the border of international airspace. According to The New York Times, an unnamed US government official called this a show of force, emphasizing that B-52s can carry dozens of precision-guided bombs.
An elite unit of US special forces has also been conducting its own flights in recent days. Specifically, these were training flights by Black Hawk helicopters from the Army's 160th Special Operations Regiment, known as the Night Stalkers, who were deployed during extensive counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. In total, the US Army, Air Force, and Navy have 10,000 troops in the area, most of them based in Puerto Rico. There are also about 2,200 Marines on eight warships and one submarine.
Donald Trump has added the powers of the Central Intelligence Agency to the military pressure. The White House chief confirmed that he had authorized secret CIA operations in Venezuela and that he was considering strikes directly on Venezuelan soil. The US president also argues that Venezuela is systematically sending its prisoners to the US. "I authorized this for two reasons. First, they emptied their prisons into the United States. They let the prisoners cross the border. They came because we had open borders. And the second thing is drugs," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, according to Reuters. His administration is offering a $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Nicolás Maduro for drug trafficking.
