Stephen Miller sidesteps question on US troops in Venezuela as tensions rise

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."

When asked directly about the potential for U.S. troops being placed on the ground, he referred to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's comments Thursday about the strategies used to combat the regime, including the ramped-up strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea.

"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."

The Trump administration has authorized military strikes on boats claimed to be ferrying drugs from Venezuela's coast and in the Pacific Ocean. Around 43 people have been killed since the operation began on Sept. 2. Hegseth said earlier this week that five “narco-terrorists” were killed Tuesday and Wednesday, during strikes on two separate alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Eastern Pacific. 

The administration has not produced evidence that the boats were trafficking drugs.

Although President Trump said Wednesday that he could ask Congress to authorize a strike on cartel members on land, he dismissed the possibility on Thursday and said he did not think the administration will "necessarily ask for a declaration of war."

“I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, OK?" Trump told reporters. "We’re going to kill them.”

Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution states that Congress has the sole power to declare war. But in the past, former Presidents Biden, Obama and George W. Bush bypassed Congress to conduct strikes, including via drones, on alleged adversaries. Obama and Trump, during his first term, both oversaw numerous drone strikes.

Earlier this month, Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Tim Kaine (Va.) sponsored a resolution to stop the strikes. The vote failed 48-51, with GOP Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) being the only Republicans to support it. The only Democrat to vote against it was Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.).

As tensions escalate, the Pentagon announced Friday that it would send the U.S.S Gerald R. Ford to the Caribbean. The vessel, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, will be used to “dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland," according to chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.

Maduro has called the mounting tension a “crazy war” and called for peace.

“Yes peace, yes peace forever, peace forever. No crazy war, please,” the Venezuelan leader said on Thursday.