The current military efforts trace their origins to September 2, 2025, when the U.S. military initiated targeted strikes on vessels suspected of smuggling drugs off Venezuela’s Caribbean shoreline. These seaborne operations have involved naval assets and aerial surveillance to disrupt maritime trafficking routes, which officials have identified as key pathways for narcotics entering the U.S. via Central America and Mexico.

At least eight strikes have been carried out against foreign drug traffickers over the last several weeks, all of whom were members of organizations that were designated as terrorist by the president earlier this year, the War Department has announced.

During Thursday’s meeting, President Trump addressed reporters directly, stating, “We’re going to go to Congress. I don’t see any loss in going — no reason not to.”

Trump clarified that the administration does not anticipate seeking a formal declaration of war from Congress. Instead, the operations are framed as targeted enforcement actions against individuals and networks facilitating drug importation. “I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them, you know, they’re going to be like dead, okay?” he said.

Land-based strikes would represent a shift from the maritime focus, potentially involving special operations forces or drone strikes on cartel infrastructure such as processing labs or staging areas. Preparatory intelligence work has been ongoing for several weeks, with Trump having referenced the possibility of such actions in prior public statements.