The unprecedented strikes by U.S. Marines on a cartel-operated vessel off of Venezuela this week signaled that the Trump administration is taking a hard new approach when it comes to countering the international drug trade.

While the U.S. military has long worked to counter cartel and international gang organizations beginning in the late 1980s, the Tuesday strike that killed 11 members of Tren de Aragua – which the Trump administration designated as a terrorist organization in February – marked a definite shift from previous seize and apprehend operations.

“The gloves are off,” Isaias Medina, former Venezuelan UN diplomat turned Caracas dissident under the Nicholas Maduro regime, told Fox News Digital.  “The recent U.S. Marine strike on the alleged Tren de Aragua narcotics vessel operated out of Venezuela under a regime deeply linked to crimes against humanity and narco-terrorism marked a turning point in the fight against international organized crime.”

Video footage showed the vessel shortly before it was destroyed off of Venezuela on Sept. 2, 2025. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social)

Medina argued that Maduro’s “unwilling or unable” attitude towards international cartel narcotics rings opened the window of opportunity for Trump to act, noting that the Marine’s followed strict rules of engagement when targeting a terrorist organization which was believed to be moving drugs intended for the U.S.

“Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, backed by Maduro, operates much like other state-sponsored terror groups, including Iran’s support for the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah all destabilize regions through illicit trade and violence,” Medina said. “Safe harbors in international waters are no longer sanctuaries for traffickers and smugglers.

“This strike sends a clear warning that those businesses now face decisive and powerful resistance from American forces and their allies,” he added. 

Despite Maduro’s suspicions that Trump’s end game is the ousting of his government, experts remain skeptical. 

President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro delivers the annual address at Teatro Teresa Carreno in Caracas, Venezuela on Jan. 15, 2025. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images))

Though the Tuesday operation is an extension of Trump’s anti-Maduro policies, Juan Cruz, a former National Security Council senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs, said he does not believe it indicates any major changes are on the horizon like a regime change. 

“I can’t imagine this deployment had that specifically as an objective,” Cruz told Fox News Digital. “But [Trump] will certainly take that as a win if, for some reason, it had that outcome.”