US to attack Venezuela ‘very soon’? Trump promises land strikes as fears of military conflict grow

Amid growing fears of US military action in Venezuela, President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed that Washington was looking to up the ante against the South American nation, promising military action "very soon".

"We’re going to start doing those strikes on land too," Trump was quoted as saying on Tuesday by CNN during a cabinet meeting.

"We know where they live. We know where the bad ones live, and we’re going to start that very soon," the US President added.

Trump also did not stop at Venezuela, and threatened to take military action against any country trafficking drugs into the US.

"Anybody that's doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack," the US President told reporters after the Cabinet meeting, speaking on the issue of cocaine coming in from Colombia.

A significant escalation

While the US, for several weeks now, has been carrying out strikes against alleged drug boats, military action in Venezuelan territory would mark a major escalation, potentially spiralling into a full-blown military conflict.

Thus far, 83 people have been killed in 22 strikes on alleged drug boats, which Washington has labelled as a campaign to prevent the illegal flow of drugs into the US.

Trump's assurance on Tuesday that military action on land would start soon echoes his words from Thursday, when told service members during a Thanksgiving call that strikes on Venezuelan territory would begin "very soon".

The US President's comment on Tuesday on launching military operations in Venezuela take on further importance, given his recent order declaring the South American country's airspace as “closed".

The US President's comment also comes at a time when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing intense scrutiny for allegedly ordering a follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat that left 11 dead.

US-born Pope urges calm

Trump's repeated threats against Venezuela and its leader President Nicolas Maduro, who Washington alleges leads a drug cartel, has attracted global attention, including from Pope Leo, the first American to lead the Vatican.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday about the Trump administration's threats to remove Maduro by force, the Pope urged Washington to consider alternate ways to achieve its objective.

“It is better to search for ways of dialogue, or perhaps pressure, including economic pressure,” Pope Leo told reporters on his way back from a visit to Turkey and Lebanon.