U.S. may launch ground operation in Venezuela — Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump said Venezuelan drug cartels might soon shift their smuggling operations to land routes and warned that Washington could use force to stop them.

“They’re no longer coming by sea, so we have to watch the land, because they’ll be forced to move overland. And let me tell you, it won’t end well for them,” Trump said during a speech at the U.S. Navy’s Atlantic Fleet base in Norfolk, Virginia, marking the fleet’s 250th anniversary.

Trump also said U.S. forces had destroyed another boat believed to be carrying narcotics. “Each of these boats is responsible for the deaths of 25,000 Americans and the destruction of their families. Thinking that way, we are doing a good deed — we took down another one last night,” he said.

Washington has accused Venezuelan authorities of failing to combat drug trafficking effectively. The U.S. Navy has already destroyed at least three speedboats in the Caribbean Sea carrying 18 people allegedly linked to narcotics smuggling.

In his speech at the 80th UN General Assembly on September 23, Trump said U.S. forces would continue targeting vessels allegedly tied to Venezuelan drug cartels led by President Nicolas Maduro. U.S. media have reported that Washington could begin strikes on cartel facilities inside Venezuela in the coming weeks.