President Donald Trump has formally declared that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with international drug cartels, according to a notice his administration sent to Congress following a series of strikes off Venezuela’s coast.
The Pentagon’s communication, obtained by AFP, framed the cartels as non-state armed groups designated as terrorist organizations, whose actions were described as “armed attacks” against the U.S. It further labeled suspected traffickers as “unlawful combatants.”
The justification comes after at least three U.S. strikes in international waters killed 14 suspected smugglers. The Trump administration had already deployed multiple warships and military aircraft to the Caribbean Sea to disrupt narcotics trafficking amid heightened tensions with Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
“The president acted in line with the law of armed conflict to protect our country from those trying to bring deadly poison to our shores,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said, adding that Trump was fulfilling his promise to neutralize cartels deemed a threat to American lives.
The decision sparked new friction with Caracas. Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino denounced the presence of U.S. jets, claiming they flew within 75 kilometers of Venezuelan territory—a move he labeled a “provocation” and a threat to national security. The Maduro government accused Washington of violating international law and endangering civil aviation in the Caribbean.
Last month, Trump escalated military activity in the region by dispatching 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico, along with eight warships and a nuclear submarine, marking the largest U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean in more than 30 years.
Tensions deepened after Venezuelan fighter jets shadowed an American naval ship. Trump subsequently warned Caracas that any repeat would see its aircraft “shot down.”
Maduro, for his part, has accused Trump of using counternarcotics operations as cover for a broader attempt at regime change.
