US troops in Venezuela? Trump hints major moves possible as tensions soar

President Donald Trump said he’s not ruling out sending U.S. ground troops into Venezuela amid his administration’s crackdown on criminal networks tied to the country’s top leadership and drugs that are exported from it. 

“No, I don’t rule out that, I don’t rule out anything,” Trump said Monday when asked if he has ruled out sending U.S. troops to Venezuela. 

“We just have to take care of Venezuela. They dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country from prisons. Nobody knows better than this young lady right here,” Trump continued, referring to Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem. “She’s done an incredible job with Tom Homan and all of your people.” 

The U.S. has carried out a series of strikes on boats that reportedly traffic narcotics in the waters off of Central and South America since September. The administration has carried out at least 21 fatal strikes on the boats since September, with the most recent strike unfolding Sunday. 

TRUMP REVEALS MADURO ‘WOULD LIKE TO TALK’ AS MILITARY OPTIONS REMAIN ON THE TABLE FOR VENEZUELA

The strikes come as the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford arrived in the Caribbean Sea earlier in November. Trump said Sunday that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro indicated he wants talks with the U.S. as tensions mount between the nations. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Sunday that a criminal network allegedly tied to Maduro and his allies, the Cartel de los Soles, will be designated a foreign terrorist organization as tensions continue to escalate. 

Trump added Monday that he would speak with Maduro when asked if he was prepared to directly speak with the dictator. 

“Yeah, I probably would talk to him. Yeah, I talked to everybody,” Trump said. 

The administration has defended the strikes, saying the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels after the groups evolved into transnational terror organizations.

TRUMP AGREES MADURO’S DAYS AS VENEZUELA’S PRESIDENT ARE NUMBERED IN ‘60 MINUTES’ INTERVIEW

“We have a tight border right now,” Trump said. “Nobody comes in. But we had millions of people pouring through a year ago. We had millions of people pouring through our border, and many of them came from Venezuela, including Tren de Aragua, the gang. And I guess what I’m hearing, Kristi, is that there’s been a gang.” 

Trump has said the strikes are out of an effort to curb drugs flooding into the U.S., while experts have weighed in that the pressure on Venezuela is likely part of a larger puzzle to force Maduro’s ouster and end his regime in the country. 

TRUMP SAYS ‘WE’LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS’ WHEN ASKED ABOUT POSSIBILITY OF STRIKING VENEZUELA AMID RISING TENSIONS

Noem added during the Oval Office meeting, which focused on the 2026 FIFA World Cup that will be hosted in North America, that Tren de Aragua is a worse gang than MS-13. Tren de Aragua is a Venezuela-based gang with syndicates in nations stretching from South America to the U.S. Trump designated the gang, and other drug cartels and transnational gangs, as a foreign terrorist organization under an executive order in February of this year. 

“Killers. They massacre people,” Noem said. “They cut them up into pieces and they bury them in their communities where they grew up. They’re horrible people.” 

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“And we had a lot of them and many of them, most of them,” Trump added of alleged illegal gang members in the U.S. “Pretty soon most of them are going to be out, but they sent them in like we’re dumping ground. So, I’m not in love with the people running Venezuela. I love Venezuela. I love the people of Venezuela. But what they’ve done to this country and I really say this, what Biden and the Democrats have done to this country can never, ever be forgotten.”

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz, Emma Bussey and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.