Venezuela deploys troops to Colombia border amid US naval buildup

Venezuela has announced that it will deploy 15,000 troops to its border with Colombia as part of a campaign to combat drug trafficking.

The US, meanwhile, has moved to reinforce its presence in the region, sending two additional naval vessels to the southern Caribbean as part of ongoing operations against Latin American drug cartels.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on Monday that Caracas would send troops to Zulia and Táchira states, both along the Colombian frontier, to strengthen security.

“We are fighting drug trafficking here; we are confronting drug cartels on every front,” Cabello said, adding that Venezuelan forces have seized 53 tons of narcotics so far this year.

Cabello emphasized that security measures along the Colombian border were being tightened to confront criminal groups, with additional aircraft, drones, and river patrol units to be deployed.

Washington prepares for intervention under the pretext of fighting cartels

Speaking to local outlet Noticias Venevision, Cabello urged Colombian authorities to adopt similar measures “to guarantee peace along the entire axis.”

The deployment comes as the Trump administration accuses President Nicolás Maduro of involvement in cocaine trafficking and collusion with drug cartels.

US officials have accused Maduro and Cabello of ties to the Cartel de los Soles (“Cartel of the Suns”), which Washington has designated as a terrorist group.

These charges follow the US decision last week to raise the bounty for Maduro’s capture on drug charges to $50 million. Earlier this year, Washington doubled the reward for Cabello’s arrest or conviction from $10 million to $25 million.

Caracas mobilizes militias against US military threat

Maduro has accused the US of plotting regime change in Venezuela and has launched a nationwide campaign to register thousands of militia members to bolster national defense.

“I am confident we will overcome this test imposed by life, this imperialist threat against the peace of our country and continent,” Maduro declared on Monday.

According to Reuters, the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie and the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Newport News are set to arrive in the southern Caribbean next week. Both vessels will join a US amphibious fleet already stationed near Venezuela.

The fleet, which includes the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima, and USS Fort Lauderdale, reportedly carries 4,500 troops, including 2,200 Marines.

President Donald Trump has made targeting Latin American drug cartels a central focus of his administration, labeling Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang as “global terrorist organizations.”

US prepares for potential military action in Mexico

According to journalist Ken Klippenstein, three US military officials confirmed that the administration had ordered preparations for lethal strikes against cartel targets inside Mexico.

A top-secret planning directive issued in late spring instructed US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) to develop attack plans to be ready by mid-September.

The unprecedented order was discussed in July at NORTHCOM headquarters in Colorado Springs during a meeting chaired by Colby Jenkins, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict.

The New York Times also reported that the CIA has stepped up drone surveillance over Mexico, another sign of preparations for possible operations.

NORTHCOM has long cooperated with Mexico on counter-cartel efforts. In testimony to Congress, General Gregory Guillot recently described this cooperation as “closer than ever before.”

But new directives have tasked NORTHCOM’s Special Operations Command North (SOCNORTH) with “operational preparation of the battlefield” inside Mexico, focusing on so-called “target packages” for potential strikes against high-value individuals, facilities, and cartel supply chains—particularly those linked to the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

Such direct actions could include drone strikes and special operations raids, typically carried out by US Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs, or Marine Raiders.