FROM THE HILL: White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller on Friday dodged a question from reporters about the potential for ground troops on Venezuelan soil, as tensions escalate amid the Trump administration’s war on drugs in the Caribbean.
While he said he “would not now or ever get into any detailed discussion” about potential military options, Miller called Venezuela a “central hub” for the trafficking of narcotics, weapons and humans.
The White House aide called the drug cartels linked to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s regime, which are designated terrorist organizations, the “ISIS of the Western Hemisphere.”
Miller was asked directly whether U.S. troops are being placed on the ground.
“I know that you want more detailed answers than I can provide,” Miller told reporters. “But these are terrorists and they’re going to be killed.”
Q: "Would the administration consider putting U.S. troops on the ground in any capacity inside Venezuela?"
White House Senior Adviser Stephen Miller (@StephenM): "These are terrorists and they're gonna be killed." pic.twitter.com/WaGi2La6km
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 24, 2025
His comments referred to those made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday.
“If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda,” Hegseth wrote at the time. “Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you.”
Overnight, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea.
The vessel was known by our… pic.twitter.com/lVlw0FLBv4
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 24, 2025
. @SECWAR “Our message to these foreign terrorist organizations is we will treat you like we have treated Al-Qaeda.
We will find you.
We will map your networks.
We will hunt you down, and we will kill you.” pic.twitter.com/dbX66iDjKD— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) October 23, 2025
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