U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his administration plans to brief the U.S. Congress on operations against drug cartels and that even though he did not need a declaration of war, operations against cartels on land would be next.
The U.S. military has been increasing its presence in the Caribbean, including deployments of guided-missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and thousands of troops.
"Well, I don't think we're going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we're just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. OK? We're going to kill them," Trump told reporters at the White House.
The United States has carried out a number of strikes against suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean since early September, killing nearly 40 people. While the Pentagon has provided little information, it has said some of those strikes have been against vessels near Venezuela.
"Now they (drugs) are coming in by land ... you know, the land is going to be next," Trump added, echoing comments he has made in recent weeks.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, speaking at a live event in Caracas on Thursday, warned that if the U.S. ever intervened in the country, "the working class would rise and a general insurrectional strike would be declared in the streets until power is regained," adding that "millions of men and women with rifles would march across the country."
Last week, Reuters was first to report that two alleged drug traffickers survived a U.S. military strike in the Caribbean. They were rescued and brought to a U.S. Navy warship before being repatriated to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador.
Sitting next to Trump at the same event on Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the decision to repatriate two survivors, likening it to battlefield practices during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
"In those conflicts, we captured thousands on the battlefield and handed over 99% to host-nation authorities," Hegseth said.
"Did we always like the outcome? Not always. But it was the standard, and it’s the same here."
U.S. special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday on efforts to en...
Iran has warned it will retaliate against any future U.S. attacks, saying American energy interests and infrastructure across the Gulf could become...
Baku Climate Action Week (BCAW) 2026 has begun in Azerbaijan’s capital, bringing together government representatives, business leaders, inves...
An eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau has disrupted air travel, school activities and fishing operations, with hundreds of passengers stranded at Jakarta’s main airport on Sunday.
At least five people were killed and five others injured when an Amazon Prime Air cargo plane overran a runway and crashed while landing at Miami International Airport on Sunday, 6 September, local officials said.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that the United States must recognise that the “rules of the game” in its war against Iran had changed “before it is too late”, a day after Washington struck several Iranian tankers in the Gulf.
Two Greek military pilots were killed on Saturday when an F-4 Phantom fighter jet crashed during an air show at Tanagra air base, north of Athens, officials said.
U.S. special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday on efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
U.S. special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday on efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
A battle over the future of the European Union’s diplomatic service is deepening divisions over who controls the bloc’s foreign policy, as EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas pushes back against plans to overhaul her service.
The Strait of Hormuz is moving into a more complicated stage of the U.S.-Iran war. Tehran says it will establish a new restricted maritime zone around the waterway, while Iran and Oman are preparing to formalise a separate shipping route intended to restore at least part of commercial traffic.
The European Union is preparing to boost investment in Greenland, as Brussels moves to deepen political and economic ties with the Arctic territory amid growing strategic competition involving the U.S., Russia and China.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said a newly commissioned destroyer will become part of the country's nuclear response system, capable of delivering what he described as “annihilating retaliatory strikes”.
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