Donald Trump's administration is considering an air offensive against military targets of Nicolás Maduro's regime associated with drug trafficking
The deployment seeks to strengthen the operational capacity of the United States to act quickly in the face of transnational threats and to coordinate joint actions with allied countries. The White House emphasized that the main objective remains to combat drug trafficking, although the political background of the Venezuelan crisis keeps the entire region on edge.
The United States is on high alert and is preparing a possible air offensive against military installations in Venezuela linked to drug trafficking networks, according to reports by the Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal. According to sources close to Donald Trump's administration, the attacks could be carried out "within days or even hours" as part of a comprehensive strategy to weaken the criminal structures of the Chavista regime.
Potential targets would include ports, airports, and naval bases controlled by high-ranking officers of the Venezuelan Army, allegedly used for drug trafficking to the Caribbean and Central America. The operation would have as its direct objective the dismantling of the Cartel of the Suns, a criminal network made up of high-ranking officers of Nicolás Maduro's regime.
Donald Trump reiterated this week his commitment to the "war on drug trafficking" and warned that his administration will not allow Venezuela to remain a corridor for organized crime. From Japan, the president stated: "We are waging a war like you've never seen before, and we're going to win it."
During the last two months, the United States Armed Forces bombed 15 vessels linked to drug trafficking in the Pacific and the Caribbean, eliminating more than 60 drug operatives. Pentagon sources maintain that the recent results have strengthened Washington's determination to expand its offensive to the mainland.
The Department of Defense confirmed that the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, the most advanced ship in the United States fleet, is heading to the Caribbean Sea accompanied by a powerful combat group that includes destroyers, a submarine, and F-35B fighter jets. This is the largest United States military mobilization in the region since the invasion of Panama in 1989.
According to the United States Department of the Treasury, the Cartel of the Suns is made up of high-ranking officers of the Venezuelan Army who control cocaine routes to the Caribbean and Central America. These networks have financed Maduro's dictatorship for years and represent one of the economic pillars of the regime.
Washington considers that neutralizing the Cartel of the Suns is essential to cut off the illicit flows that sustain the Chavista leadership and to pave the way for a democratic transition in Venezuela. Military sources state that more than 4,500 United States troops are deployed in the region ready to act.
The hardening of the United States' stance responds not only to the advance of drug trafficking, but also to the need to guarantee the security of the Western Hemisphere in the face of authoritarian regimes allied with Russia and Iran. The Trump Administration thus reaffirms its commitment to the defense of freedom in Latin America and the frontal fight against organized crime.
With logistical support from allied countries and a firm political decision, Washington seeks to put an end to Maduro's regime and restore stability in Venezuela, a key piece for the energy and geopolitical security of the region.
