Following the United States’ repeated air strikes on alleged boats of the Venezuelan drug traffickers, President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that America will ‘very soon’ authorise strikes on “bad ones” inside Venezuela. The Republican President made these comments during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, where he hinted at a major escalation between the US and Caracas.

“We’re going to start doing those strikes on land, too. Land is much easier; we know where they live. We know where the bad ones live, and we’re going to start that very soon.” Trump said. Meanwhile, he warned that anyone involved in drug trafficking from other countries could also be subjected to attack. Trump’s remarks came after his administration was placed under heavy scrutiny over the offensive attack on the alleged boats of the Venezuelan drug traffickers, which killed over 80 people so far.

“We’re taking those sons of…”: Trump

Defending the US military’s recent operations, which claimed many civilians’ lives, he stated, “These people have killed over 200K people last year… We’re taking those sons of a  b****es out.” Meanwhile, he blamed former American President Joe Biden for allowing “animals” to enter the country and propel the drug trade.

Trump defends War Secretary Peth Hegseth

In the cabinet meeting, President Trump also defended Pete Hegseth, stating that neither he nor the War Secretary knew about the 2nd strike on the suspected drug boat. “I didn’t know about the second strike. I didn’t know anything about people. I wasn’t involved, and I knew they took out a boat, but I would say this, they had a strike,” he said.

The US President added that Hegseth “was satisfied” with the air strike; however, he “didn’t know about a second attack, having to do with two people.” Hegseth, in his defence, had said that he saw the “first strike live” but then moved on to the next meeting.