Trump denies US bomber buildup near Venezuela, warns of possible ‘land action soon’

Donald Trump

President Donald Trump on Thursday dismissed a Wall Street Journal report claiming that the United States had deployed B-1 bombers near Venezuela to increase military pressure on the Maduro government. But the 79-year-old president also warned that “we could see land action soon,” suggesting an escalation could be on the horizon.

“No, it’s false,” Trump told reporters when asked about the Journal’s report. He added that Washington remains “very unhappy with Venezuela.”

When pressed about the possibility of a formal declaration of war, Trump said, “Well, I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we’re just going to kill people who are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them.”

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal had reported that two Air Force B-1 Lancer bombers flew near Venezuelan territory after a separate “attack demonstration” by U.S. warplanes in the region. According to the report, the bombers departed from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and remained in international airspace throughout the operation.

This comes amid an intensifying U.S. campaign targeting alleged drug-smuggling operations. Earlier this month, the Pentagon confirmed its ninth strike on a suspected drug vessel in the eastern Pacific, which killed three people. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strike followed another attack two days earlier in the same region that killed two more. Since the operations began last month, at least 37 people have been killed.

Venezuela says CIA ‘will fail’
In Caracas, Venezuela’s defence minister, Vladimir Padrino, hit back at the United States, claiming that any CIA activity in the country “will fail.”

“We know the CIA is present,” Padrino said on Thursday. “They may deploy, I don’t know how many CIA-affiliated units in covert operations... and any attempt will fail.”

Trump had said last week that he authorised covert CIA operations against Venezuela and was considering expanding strikes against alleged drug cartels on land, after a series of naval attacks targeting suspected traffickers at sea.