Following recent naval raids in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, US President Donald Trump has signalling that his government intends to expand military operations against drug cartels to include land-based strikes.

During an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night, Trump stated that the United States would begin targeting cartel infrastructure on land.

“We are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels,” he said, adding that criminal groups have gained extensive control in Mexico.

The statements follow the surprising capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro this weekend, which came after months of unrelenting US military and economic pressure on Caracas.

Since September, US forces are said to have carried out over 100 strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels as part of the broader effort.

Trump also revealed that American soldiers carried out a land strike on a docking facility in Venezuela purportedly utilised by drug smugglers.

Any decision to expand comparable operations into Mexico would signal a significant increase in US military involvement in the region.

The interim left-leaning government in Caracas has condemned the U.S. strikes, warning that they threaten regional security.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rebutted Washington’s rhetoric, claiming that the Americas “do not belong” to any single nation.

On Sunday, Trump said he asked Sheinbaum to approve the deployment of US troops to combat drug cartels in Mexico, an offer that the Mexican government had previously rejected.

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