US President Donald Trump warned that any country he believes is producing drugs destined illegally for the United States could be subject to military attack.
Trump made the remarks during a White House question-and-answer session, in which he also said military strikes on land targets inside Venezuela, which he has accused of narco-terrorism, would “start very soon.”
Asked if only Venezuela was being targeted, Trump said any country producing drugs for contraband, including fentanyl or cocaine, is “subject to attack.”
He mentioned Colombia specifically, claiming he “heard” the country has cocaine plants.
“We’re going to start doing those strikes on land, too,” Trump said.
“The land is much easier. We know the routes they take. We know everything about them. We know where they live. We know where the bad ones live, and we’re going to start that very soon too. When we start that, we’re going to drive those numbers down so low.”
The comments came after a cabinet meeting in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump discussed the extrajudicial killing of two survivors from an alleged drug-smuggling boat attack in September.
During the meeting, Hegseth said he “watched that first strike” but did not remain for the second, during which the two survivors were killed, a statement that contradicted his previous account.
The Navy admiral who ordered the second strike, Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley, is scheduled to brief congressional committees investigating the September operation.
