THE American military is reportedly gearing up to take control of ports and airfields in Venezuela as Donald Trump has declared an all-out war on drug cartels.
The President surprised Washington by officially stating that the US is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with the Latin American “terrorist organizations.”
President Trump declared a full-scale war on drug cartels, labeling them as ‘terrorist organizations’
America’s military is preparing to seize ports and airfields in Venezuela
This initiative, disclosed in a confidential memo to Congress, grants Trump extensive wartime powers to strike, kill, and detain cartel fighters without trial.
Simultaneously, the Pentagon is quietly assembling a force large enough to capture and hold territory within Venezuelan borders.
According to the Washington Examiner , US military planners currently possess sufficient firepower to seize critical ports and airfields if ordered to do so.
Off the coast of Venezuela lies a formidable naval presence: Navy warships, a submarine, ten F-35 Lightning II stealth jets, and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit — comprising 2,200 Marines equipped with Harrier jump jets, helicopters, and armored vehicles.
Special operations forces have practiced parachute and airfield seizure drills in the Caribbean.
Puerto Rico has emerged as a key staging area, with continuous flights transporting troops and equipment.
While the Pentagon has not confirmed any invasion plans, its military posture is evident.
Training exercises in August involved US special tactics airmen and pararescuemen successfully seizing an airstrip following a high-altitude jump.
Defense insiders informed the Examiner that this deployment exceeds routine counter-drug patrols, indicating that Washington may seek the option to strike deep within Nicolás Maduro’s regime if necessary.
Tensions escalated overnight when Venezuela’s Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino López, claimed that five F-35s were detected by air defense systems within the Maiquetía Flight Information Region off Venezuela’s coast.
These are likely the US Marine Corps F-35Bs recently deployed to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico, as reported by OSINT Defender on X.
Padrino condemned the flights as provocative and vowed that Caracas “will not be intimidated.”
The military buildup follows a significant escalation at sea.
Last month, US forces executed strikes resulting in at least 17 fatalities, including 11 on September 2 and three more in a fiery explosion on September 15.
Trump warned on Truth Social at the time: “STOP SELLING FENTANYL, NARCOTICS, AND ILLEGAL DRUGS IN AMERICA, AND COMMITTING VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM AGAINST AMERICANS!!!”
In his memo to Congress, Trump labeled cartel operatives as “unlawful combatants” and asserted that their smuggling activities “constitute an armed attack against the United States.”
By invoking the laws of war, the president is framing the drug crisis as a national security threat comparable to the post-9/11 fight against Al-Qaeda – a strategy that allows him to strike preemptively and detain captives indefinitely.
US Military forces conducting a strike on a boat carrying alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea
Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro condemned Trump’s actions as a pretext for regime change
