Headline Roundup • November 28th, 2025
Trump Plans 'Land Action' to Stop Venezuelan Drug Cartels
Summary from the AllSides News Team
On Thursday, President Donald Trump suggested that the US is preparing to take action on land against alleged Venezuelan drug trafficking networks.
Key Quotes: Trump said on a call with military service members, "In recent weeks, you've been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many. Of course, there aren't too many coming in by sea anymore, and we'll be starting to stop them by land also. The land is easier, but that's going to start very soon."
For Context: The military has conducted strikes on nearly two dozen vessels, several with ties to Venezuela, allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since September. Trump designated the Cartel de los Soles, which is allegedly linked to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his government, as a foreign terrorist organization on November 24.
How the Media Covered It: CNN (Lean Left bias) noted that the Trump administration "has largely tried to avoid involving Congress in its military campaign around Latin America." New York Post (Lean Right) included a comment Trump made to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying, "I'd like to just tell you, 'Let's go.' We'll go. We're going to tell them what we're going to do, and I think they're going to probably like it, except for the radical left lunatics." Straight Arrow News (Center) wrote that Maduro "warned the U.S. against initiating a war of regime change" and compared the potential invasion to Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Featured Coverage of this Story
President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that the United States is preparing to take new action against alleged drug trafficking networks in Venezuela, telling service members during a Thanksgiving call that efforts for strikes on land will be starting "very soon."
"In recent weeks, you've been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many. Of course, there aren't too many coming in by sea anymore," Trump told service members in the call.
"You probably noticed that people aren't wanting to be delivering by sea, and we'll be starting...

AP
President Trump on Thursday said that the US will "very soon" start stopping suspected Venezuelan drug trafficking networks "by land" in a shift from his thus-far seaborne military campaign.
"In recent weeks, you've been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many," Trump said in a call with US service members on Thanksgiving.
"Of course, there aren't too many coming in by sea anymore. Have you probably noticed that?"
The U.S. has issued the strongest signal yet that it may soon launch a ground operation inside Venezuela. President Donald Trump told American troops that "land action" against the Maduro regime is coming "very soon."
The president made the comment during his Thanksgiving call with U.S. troops, praising the Air Force's 7th Bomb Wing for destroying suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean.
The military has hit nearly two dozen vessels since September, killing more than 80 people the Trump administration claims were working with cartels. The contested legality of those...
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