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The unprecedented strikes by U.S. Marines on a cartel-operated vessel off of Venezuela this week signaled that the Trump administration is taking a hard new approach when it comes to countering the international drug trade.
While the U.S. military has long worked to counter cartel and international gang organizations beginning in the late 1980s, the Tuesday strike that killed 11 members of Tren de Aragua – which the Trump administration designated as a terrorist organization in February – marked a definite shift from previous seize and apprehend operations.
“The gloves are off,” Isaias Medina, former Venezuelan UN diplomat turned Caracas dissident under the Nicholas Maduro regime, told Fox News Digital. “The recent U.S. Marine strike on the alleged Tren de Aragua narcotics vessel operated out of Venezuela under a regime deeply linked to crimes against humanity and narco-terrorism marked a turning point in the fight against international organized crime.”
Video footage showed the vessel shortly before it was destroyed off of Venezuela on Sept. 2, 2025. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social)
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President Donald Trump has made it clear since his first administration that he strongly opposes Maduro’s regime and even announced a $50 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Trump’s decision to deploy U.S. troops off of the South American nation prompted Maduro on Monday to decry the move as an attempt to seek regime change and said, “Venezuela is confronting the biggest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years.”
The White House faced some international pushback and questions regarding what this strike meant for future U.S. policy when it comes to countering cartels and geopolitics in South America.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio looked to set the record straight during a Wednesday trip to Mexico – where he was also addressing cross-border arms and narcotics smuggling – and said, “The President of the United States is going to wage war on narco-terrorist organizations.”
Rubio argued the previous policy of seize and apprehend “doesn’t work.”
“Because these drug cartels — what they do is they know they’re going to lose 2% of their cargo – they bake it into their economics,” he said. “What will stop them is when you blow them up, when you get rid of them.”
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House on Sept. 2, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Medina argued that Maduro’s “unwilling or unable” attitude towards international cartel narcotics rings opened the window of opportunity for Trump to act, noting that the Marine’s followed strict rules of engagement when targeting a terrorist organization which was believed to be moving drugs intended for the U.S.
“Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, backed by Maduro, operates much like other state-sponsored terror groups, including Iran’s support for the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah all destabilize regions through illicit trade and violence,” Medina said. “Safe harbors in international waters are no longer sanctuaries for traffickers and smugglers.
“This strike sends a clear warning that those businesses now face decisive and powerful resistance from American forces and their allies,” he added.
Despite Maduro’s suspicions that Trump’s end game is the ousting of his government, experts remain skeptical.
President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro delivers the annual address at Teatro Teresa Carreno in Caracas, Venezuela on Jan. 15, 2025. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images))
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Though the Tuesday operation is an extension of Trump’s anti-Maduro policies, Juan Cruz, a former National Security Council senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs, said he does not believe it indicates any major changes are on the horizon like a regime change.
“I can’t imagine this deployment had that specifically as an objective,” Cruz told Fox News Digital. “But [Trump] will certainly take that as a win if, for some reason, it had that outcome.”