DONALD Trump has promised US military will start land operations in Venezuela, after US says drug cartels are on par with terrorist groups Al Qaeda and Hamas.

The Don’s war on drugs has continued, as American forces have completed at least 21 strikes on boats alleged to be smuggling drugs and attempting to reach US shores.

As part of Operation Southern Spear, some of the most advanced aircraft carriers are among the ships that have been deployed into the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific to tackle these illegal vessels.

On Thursday, Trump said he was preparing to step up the response.

“You probably noticed that people aren’t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land also,” he told military service members in a call.

“The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon.”

“We warned them to stop sending poison to our country,” Trump added.

His comments come as embarrassing footage showed small factions of Venezuelan soldiers firing ancient anti-aircraft cannons and antiquated guns.

Video footage of targeted boats have been released by the US, however no evidence, including photos of cargo, has been provided to prove the drug-smuggling claims.

Venezuela has said the attacks have killed more than 80 people, claiming they amount to murder.

The Trump administration has looked to justify the ship strikes by this week labelling the drug cartels as foreign terrorist organisations – putting them in the same category as al Qaeda and Hamas.

Gangs named in the new classification include Cartel de los SOles (Cartel of the Suns), which the US claims Nicolas Maduro – the 63-year-old Venezuelan tyrant – of being heading up the group.

Another Venezuelan drugs group, Tren de Aragua, was designated a terror organisation by the US in January.

Maduro has consistently denied these claims, saying Trump was “fabricating ” a war in an attempt to overthrow him and install a puppet government.

The Venezuelan president claims Trump is only interested in access to the country’s oil reserves and other natural resources including gold and diamonds.

Trump’s announcement comes as Venezuelan troops are firing outdated RPGs and Soviet-era rifles in a desperate attempt to prepare for the looming assault.

Maduro issued a rallying war cry in the face of the impending invasion – while War Secretary Pete Hegseth has visited America’s biggest aircraft carrier in the Caribbean.

Maduro’s regime is set to crumble under the sheer force of Trump’s modern and fully stocked army – should he choose to invade the South American nation, experts say.

he Venezuelan despot has also claimed there is “no threat” that could catch his country off-guard.

He said: “There is no threat or aggression that will take us by surprise or frighten our people, who have prepared themselves to defend their land, their sea, and their air.”

Amid spiralling relations with the US and Trump’s huge military build-up, Maduro said: “Foreign imperialist forces have been continuously threatening to disrupt the peace of the Caribbean Sea and Venezuela, under false pretenses that no one believes.”

He added: “It has been 17 weeks of psychological warfare.”

Pulling statistics out of thin air, the pariah said: “82 per cent of Venezuelans say they are prepared to defend their homeland with weapons.”

The deluded despot also hailed his regime’s economy before praising Venezuela’s “palpable democracy”.

It comes after Hegseth visited sailors on the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier – the biggest in the world.

He told those on board: “The United States will be forever grateful to the warriors who keep her safe.”

Currently deployed to the Latin American region, the vessel is part of a ballooning US military presence on Maduro’s doorstep under Operation Southern Spear.

The US has carried out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and off the Pacific coast of Latin America since September, killing at least 83 people.

Maduro has repeatedly alleged that Trump’s build-up is designed to drive him out of power.

On Wednesday, bizarre footage showed Nicolas Maduro swinging a large sword in the air whilst vowing to defy the US in his latest desperate stunt.

The 63-year-old tyrant was seen in camouflage fatigues and whipping out the blade before crowds in Caracas.

The mind-boggling parade came after Trump formally branded Maduro’s inner circle “narco-terrorists”.

The US last week designated Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organisation, accusing Maduro of heading a state-embedded criminal empire that has corrupted the military, intelligence agencies, the courts and parliament.

Experts say the Cartel de los Soles is not a traditional cartel but a vast patronage web inside the Venezuelan state.

The designation took effect Monday, marking the first time Washington has treated Maduro’s regime not merely as authoritarian – but as a hemispheric security threat.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the cartel had fuelled “terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere” and trafficked cocaine into the US and Europe.

He added: “Neither Maduro nor his cronies represent Venezuela’s legitimate government.”

Maduro is clinging to a disputed third term after being declared winner of last year’s election despite evidence the opposition defeated him by a two-to-one margin.

Hegseth and Trump have previously warned that nothing, including strikes inside Venezuela, is off the table.

The Secretary of War has slammed Maduro as an “illegitimate leader” with a $50million bounty on his head and ties to transnational gangs including Tren de Aragua and Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel.

White House sources say Trump is preparing “fresh operations” within days and is ready to use covert action first.

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