White House: Trump ready to fight Maduro 'narco cartel'

White House: Trump ready to fight Maduro 'narco cartel'

The White House has announced that President Donald Trump is prepared to take military action against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of being involved in drug trafficking and collaborating with drug cartels. This move comes as part of a broader effort to combat drug trafficking and protect US national security.

The Trump administration has dispatched navy warships to Venezuelan waters, with the USS Lake Erie, a guided missile cruiser, and the USS Newport News, a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, set to arrive in the region by early next week. The USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima, and USS Fort Lauderdale, carrying 4,500 US service members, including 2,200 Marines, are also headed towards the Venezuelan coast [1].

The White House has accused Maduro of collaborating with the Cartel de los Soles, a drug trafficking organization designated as a "terrorist" group by the US. The administration has also accused Maduro of working with the Venezuelan crime syndicate Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico. The US Attorney General, Pam Bondi, has offered a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest [2].

In response, Maduro has urged millions of Venezuelans to join militias and has announced the deployment of 15,000 troops to the border with Colombia to fight drug trafficking. The Venezuelan government has also seized 53 tonnes of drugs so far this year [3].

The move by the Trump administration has sparked mixed reactions in Latin America. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has stated that her government does not have evidence linking Maduro to the Sinaloa Cartel, while the office of the president of Paraguay has declared the "Cartel of the Suns" a foreign terrorist organization [4].

The US has been increasingly vocal about its concerns over drug trafficking from Venezuela and has been working to designate more international cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations." This move comes as part of a broader effort to combat drug trafficking and protect US national security.

References:
[1] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/26/us-warships-head-to-venezuela-fight-against-cartels-or-imperial-ambition
[2] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/26/us-warships-head-to-venezuela-fight-against-cartels-or-imperial-ambition
[3] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/26/us-warships-head-to-venezuela-fight-against-cartels-or-imperial-ambition
[4] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/26/us-warships-head-to-venezuela-fight-against-cartels-or-imperial-ambition