PALM BEACH, Florida, Nov 27 (Reuters) – The United States will “very soon” begin taking steps to arrest suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers on land, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday.

“You’ve probably noticed that people don’t want to deliver by sea, and we’re going to start stopping them on land as well. Land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon,” Trump said, speaking virtually to U.S. military service members.

President Donald Trump speaks to troops by video from his Mar-a-Lago property on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).
President Donald Trump speaks to troops by video from his Mar-a-Lago property on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).

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Venezuela’s Communications Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Trump administration has been weighing options related to Venezuela to combat what it has described as President Nicolás Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans. Maduro has denied having ties to illegal drug trafficking.

U.S. forces in the region have so far focused on counternarcotics operations, even though the firepower they muster far exceeds anything they need. US troops have carried out at least 21 attacks on suspected drug trafficking ships in the Caribbean and Pacific since September, killing at least 83 people.

Reports of imminent action have proliferated in recent weeks as the US military has deployed forces to the Caribbean amid worsening relations with Venezuela.

Reuters, citing four US officials, reported on Saturday that the United States was prepared to launch a new phase of operations related to Venezuela.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Ismail Shakil; editing by Diane Craft and David Gregorio)