Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated that “important news will emerge from Venezuela very soon” related to Washington's strategy against drug trafficking, assuring that the US government now has “a partner willing to collaborate” within the South American country.

During a visit to the Guantánamo naval base in Cuba, Hegseth maintained that drug cartels “are trying to find new routes” to introduce narcotics into US territory and defended the creation of a regional coalition to combat them.

"We now collaborate with allied countries, operating within their own territories, to locate where these designated terrorists operate and where they manufacture their drugs. Sometimes we do it openly, so that the world knows, and other times discreetly," he declared.

The official added that “very soon important news will emerge from Venezuela in this regard, since we now have a partner there willing to collaborate with us,” although he did not offer details about the nature of these actions or publicly identify said ally.

The statements come in the context of President Donald Trump's administration's strategy to expand hemispheric cooperation against transnational criminal organizations.

Hegseth highlighted that Washington works with Latin American governments, including Ecuador, Honduras and Paraguay, to pursue groups that the US administration has classified as terrorist organizations and to disrupt drug production and trafficking chains.

In the same speech, the Secretary of Defense made reference to the US military operation carried out last January in Venezuela to capture former President Nicolás Maduro, who is currently facing a federal judicial process in New York on charges related to drug trafficking, according to US authorities.

Hegseth assured that Maduro “believed he could challenge the US, but he realized the reality in a matter of 45 minutes,” when describing the military incursion. Reuters reported that the official used that episode to exemplify the operational capacity of the US Armed Forces and anticipated that new actions linked to Venezuela could occur.

Hegseth's statements were made during a visit to Guantanamo in which he also issued warnings to Cuba about a possible acquisition of weapons that could threaten US interests.

The statements are also part of a broader policy of toughening drug trafficking promoted by the Trump administration. In recent months, U.S. officials have advocated for greater coordination with allied governments to attack drug production, financing and transportation networks in Latin America, while increasing diplomatic and security pressure on regimes considered hostile by Washington.

So far, the US government has not revealed what the “important news” announced by Hegseth will consist of, nor has it specified whether it will involve new security operations, cooperation agreements or judicial actions related to Venezuela.