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Fox News has learned two B-1 bombers took off from Dyess Air Base in Texas Thursday morning, flying toward Venezuela as seen on open source flight trackers, according to senior U.S. official sources.
During a White House roundtable on immigration and crime crackdowns Thursday, President Donald Trump denied the report, which was first published by the Wall Street Journal.
“No, it’s not accurate. It’s false,” Trump said. “But we’re not happy with Venezuela for a lot of reasons, drugs being one of them, but also, they’ve been sending their prisoners into our country. … Nobody can do that.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth did not correct the president during the Q&A with reporters.
IS TRUMP’S ‘HEAT’ ON VENEZUELA THE START OF A WIDER CAMPAIGN FOR REGIME CHANGE?
During the roundtable with law enforcement and administration officials to discuss the successes of the Homeland Security Task Forces, Trump honed in on the ongoing efforts to curb illegal drug smuggling into the U.S., noting he believes the cartels will begin infiltrating the U.S. by land.
“Now they’re coming in by land,” Trump said. “Even the land is concerned, because I told them … the land is going to be next. We may go to the Senate, we may go to Congress, and tell them about it. But I can’t imagine they’d have any problem with it.”
TRUMP UNLEASHES US MILITARY POWER ON CARTELS. IS A WIDER WAR LOOMING?
“Between that and my discussion with [Chinese] President Xi, I think we have never made progress like we’ve made,” Trump added. “The sea drugs are almost dead, and they can’t come in that fast from the land, and the land drugs are much more dangerous for them. It’s going to be much more dangerous. You’ll be seeing that soon. So that’s the way it is.”
Hours earlier, Hegseth confirmed the U.S. military carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel Wednesday, killing three suspects.
TRUMP SAYS ‘WE’LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS’ WHEN ASKED ABOUT POSSIBILITY OF STRIKING VENEZUELA AMID RISING TENSIONS
The attack marked the ninth vessel strike since September, and the second strike reported in the Eastern Pacific.
A total of 37 people have reportedly been killed, with two survivors later repatriated to their home countries.
When asked by reporters why he is not asking Congress to approve a declaration of war against the cartels, the president alluded that he did not think it was needed.
“I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” Trump said. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. … They’re going to be, like, dead.”
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