Trump says U.S. will 'very soon' take action on land to stop alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers

U.S. 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,” according to CNN.

“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,” CNN quoted Trump as saying in the call.

“You probably noticed that people aren’t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land also,” the president continued. “The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon.

“We warn them: Stop sending poison to our country,” Trump added.

Trump designated Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his government allies as members of a foreign terrorist organization earlier this week. The designation of “Cartel de los Soles,” a phrase that experts say is more a description of allegedly corrupt government officials than an organized crime group, as a foreign terrorist organization will authorize Trump to impose fresh sanctions targeting Maduro’s assets and infrastructure, CNN reported. It doesn’t, however, explicitly authorize the use of lethal force, CNN reported citing legal experts.

The U.S. military has amassed more than a dozen warships and 15,000 troops in the region as part of what the Pentagon has branded “Operation Southern Spear.” The US military has killed more than 80 people in boat strikes as part of the anti-drug-trafficking campaign.