Venezuela Says It Is Sending Extra Troops to Coast to Stop Drug Traffickers

‘No one is going to step on this land and do what we’re supposed to do,’ Venezuela’s defense minister said.

The U.S. Navy warship USS Sampson (DDG 102) docks at the Amador International Cruise Terminal in Panama City on Sept. 2, 2025. Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said Sept. 7 that more troops would be sent to states along the country’s Caribbean coast to combat drug trafficking, five days after the U.S. military killed 11 people aboard a boat allegedly carrying narcotics from Venezuela.

Padrino said Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro had ordered the deployment of 15,000 additional troops.