Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reportedly deployed 15,000 troops to its border with Colombia after President Donald Trump sent US warships to the southern Caribbean to crack down on drug cartels.
Trump has repeatedly expressed willingness to use the US military to prevent drug cartels from smuggling dangerous narcotics into the country.
From Bloomberg:
Nicolas Maduro’s regime deployed 15,000 police and military officers to the border states of Zulia and Tachira, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said Monday at a press conference. The forces will be joined by an unspecified number of boats, aircraft and drones.
“The president has ordered this deployment to guarantee peace,” Cabello said. “If they want to enter through the border, they won’t be able to.”
Three US warships, carrying more than 4,000 sailors and Marines, are set to approach the region to counter drug cartels. Trump has rattled Latin American leaders by reportedly ordering the Defense Department to prepare for potential military operations.
Cabello asked neighboring Colombia to do the same on its side of the border, saying the two countries have “great relations.”
BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 26, 2025
Reuters reports that the U.S. is sending additional warships, including a missile cruiser and a submarine, toward Venezuela to target drug cartels.
Maduro is the leader of the largest cartel there. Last week, the U.S. sent 3 amphibious ships with 4500 troops. pic.twitter.com/ihXu8qIxd0
The US and Venezuela could be inching closer to a confrontation as both nations maneuver their troops against one another. Maduro on Monday announced his intention to mobilize the country’s military, according to Time.
“We defend our seas, our skies, and our lands. We liberated them. We guard and patrol them,” Maduro declared. “No empire will touch the sacred soil of Venezuela, nor should it touch the sacred soil of South America.”
Venezuela appears to be gearing up for a potential war with the United States, deploying 15,000 troops to its border as American warships draw near.
— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) August 25, 2025
Washington has branded President Nicolás Maduro a terrorist and cartel kingpin.
Venezuelan officials say the troops will be… pic.twitter.com/jMgQk09yY8
Meanwhile, the Trump administration stressed that the deployment of military vessels is aimed to curbing drug trafficking. “President Trump has been very clear and consistent. He’s prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a recent press conference.
The Trump administration recently doubled the bounty on Maduro’s arrest to $50 million over his ties to drug cartels. Maduro claimed that he planned to arm millions of civilian militias and criticized the administration’s rhetoric as “extravagant, bizarre, and outlandish.”