Trump signals land strikes on drug routes as Venezuela tensions escalate

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump confirmed that Washington is preparing action against drug trafficking routes, repeating warnings he has made in recent weeks. His remarks came as the White House announced that an oil tanker seized by US forces off Venezuela’s coast will be brought to a US port.

“The vessel will go to a US port, and the United States does intend to seize the oil,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists. “We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black-market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narco-terrorism by rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world,” she added.

The tanker was taken over during an operation in which US forces descended from a helicopter onto the ship. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the action was aimed at what she described as “pushing back on a regime that is systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs,” referring to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi released video footage showing armed personnel entering the vessel’s bridge, saying the ship was part of an “illicit oil shipping network” used to transport sanctioned oil.

Venezuela strongly condemned the seizure. The foreign ministry called it “blatant theft and an act of international piracy.” President Maduro said, “They kidnapped the crew, stole the ship, and have inaugurated a new era - the era of criminal naval piracy in the Caribbean,” adding that Venezuela “will secure all ships to guarantee the free trade of its oil around the world.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged restraint. “We are calling on all actors to refrain from actions that could further escalate bilateral tensions and destabilize Venezuela and the region,” his spokesperson said.

US media reported the tanker had been bound for Cuba and was intercepted by the US Coast Guard. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin questioned the legality of the seizure, saying, “Any president, before he engages in an act of war, has to have the authorization of the American people through Congress.”

Washington has accused President Maduro of leading the so-called “Cartel of the Suns,” designated last month as a narco-terrorist organization, and has imposed new sanctions on his relatives and oil shipping companies.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Venezuela condemned the US seizure of a large oil tanker as “a blatant theft and an act of international piracy,” further escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas.