The White House played down talk of regime change in Venezuela on Friday, with President Donald Trump saying “we’re not talking about that,” while simultaneously ordering a fresh deployment of 10 F-35 stealth fighters to the Caribbean to intensify operations against drug cartels. The moves follow a U.S. strike that sank a suspected narcotics vessel and killed 11 people, and come amid a tense aerial encounter in which Venezuelan F-16s flew near a U.S. warship, according to U.S. officials.

F-35 Deployment And Naval Tensions

U.S. officials say the new F-35 detachment will operate from Puerto Rico as part of an expanded presence that already includes at least seven warships and more than 4,500 sailors and Marines. Elements of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit have been conducting amphibious and flight operations in southern Puerto Rico. A U.S. official says two Venezuelan F-16s flew over the destroyer USS Jason Dunham on Thursday, a move the Pentagon called “highly provocative.” Trump says U.S. forces are authorized to respond: “If they do put us in a dangerous position, they’ll be shot down.”

Maduro’s Pushback And The Legal Debate

Maduro says Washington should “abandon its plan of violent regime change in Venezuela and in all of Latin America and respect sovereignty, the right to peace, to independence,” while adding that differences with Trump should not “lead to a military conflict” and that Caracas remains ready “to dialogue.” U.S. officials have not publicly detailed the legal basis for Tuesday’s lethal strike at sea or the type of drugs allegedly aboard. Trump ties Maduro to narcotrafficking and to the Tren de Aragua gang, which Washington designated a terrorist organization in February—an allegation Caracas denies, saying the group was dismantled domestically after a 2023 prison raid.

Further Strikes Under Consideration

Trump is weighing additional operations targeting cartel networks; options reportedly include strikes inside Venezuela, which would mark a sharp escalation. The president frames the effort as a wartime-scale response to U.S. overdose deaths—“Think if you’re in a war and you lose 300,000 … We’re not going to allow it to happen,” he says—while the Pentagon and State Department decline to elaborate on next steps.

Domestic Political Reaction In Washington

Criticism is emerging on Capitol Hill. Representative Ilhan Omar says the president’s actions are “lawless,” arguing that a terrorist designation does not confer “carte blanche” to bypass Congress’ authority over war and peace. Her comments underscore the unresolved questions about statutory authority and rules of engagement as the U.S. posture in the Caribbean hardens.