President Trump on Thursday said the United States will soon strike drug cartels on land.
“We are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels. The cartels are running Mexico,” Trump said during an appearance on Fox News’s “Hannity,” without providing further details about the plans.
His comments follow a monthslong U.S. military operation attacking vessels alleged to be transporting drugs in the Caribbean Sea and elsewhere. White House and Pentagon officials justified some of the lethal strikes by noting that boat occupants were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which was designated as a foreign terrorist organization last year.
The Trump administration on Saturday captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Both were transported to the U.S. to face narco-trafficking charges.
U.S. military forces also struck infrastructure in the northern region of Venezuela before raiding Maduro’s residence in Caracas. The Trump administration has also sought to exert control of Venezuela’s oil industry and said the country would turn over 30 to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S.
The operation drew harsh criticism from Brazil, Mexico and Russia, with officials condemning the move and sharing uncertainty for the future of U.S. intervention in other countries.
“Intervention has never brought democracy, nor has it generated lasting well-being or stability,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said last week.
“We categorically reject intervention in the internal affairs of other countries,” she added.