Stephen Miller: It's time to use our military to defend the U.S. from the drug cartels

In March 2020, the United States Department of Justice filed formal charges against Nicolás Maduro and other top Venezuelan officials for “narco-terrorism” and conspiracy to import cocaine, citing ties with the FARC to facilitate drug shipments into the U.S. Since then, Maduro has been considered a fugitive by U.S. justice, and he is currently wanted with a $50 million reward for his capture. The figure was progressively raised under the Trump administration, first to $25 million and finally, in August 2025, to $50 million. In addition, the Department of Justice stated it had seized more than $700 million in assets linked to Maduro, including private jets, properties, and other luxury goods.

The U.S. government has also designated both the Tren de Aragua and the Cartel of the Suns as foreign terrorist organizations, citing their ties to the Venezuelan regime. These designations reinforce the narrative that power in Caracas is deeply intertwined with drug trafficking networks and organized crime. However, from within the Venezuelan government, both Nicolás Maduro and his top officials have rejected these accusations, labeling them as political propaganda and a “cheap operation” by Washington.

In this context, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has insisted that Maduro does not lead a legitimate government but rather a drug cartel that controls Venezuela. Miller reminded that not only Maduro but also several of his allies have been indicted in federal courts, stressing that the drugs killing young Americans largely originate from these networks tied to chavismo. He also claimed that the regime works in cooperation with foreign organizations designated as terrorists, such as Colombia’s FARC, in addition to Mexican drug cartels, and that this criminal network sends drugs, hitmen, and violence directly into American communities.

Miller argued that, for decades, the United States deployed its military to fight terrorism in the Middle East and Africa while neglecting a much closer threat: the cartels and narcocriminal networks operating in the Western Hemisphere, which have caused a far greater toll of American deaths. According to his view, cartel violence permeates every major U.S. city, where even local gangs work directly with these criminal organizations.

Finally, Miller defended President Trump’s decision to shift security policy by allowing and ordering the U.S. military to use its constitutional authority to defend the country from these terrorist and drug trafficking organizations, which, in his view, have operated with impunity in the hemisphere for far too long.

Video Source: RSBN