Amid enigmatic remarks from President Donald Trump, media reports indicated that the United States could be inching closer to military action against drug cartels, Venezuela, or both.
NPR quoted an official it did not name as saying the “table is being set” for a possible military strike.
According to The Washington Post, “U.S. forces in the region awaited possible attack orders and after days of high-level discussions about whether — and how — to strike in Venezuela.” The Washington Post cited sources it did not name.
Fighter pilots based on the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier have been studying air defenses protecting Venezuela, the report added.
Trump finished a day that included meetings with national security advisers by saying he “sort of made up my mind” about whether any part of the massive military force off of South America will be unleashed.
“I can’t tell you what it is, but we made a lot of progress with Venezuela in terms of stopping drugs from pouring in,” he said, according to NPR.
The Washington Post report said that Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller were among those who met with Trump.
An administration official the outlet did not name said “a host of options” were presented to Trump, who according to one source is “very good at maintaining strategic ambiguity, and something he does very well is he does not dictate or broadcast to our adversaries what he wants to do next.”
Trump has criticized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for allegedly being in alliances with drug cartels.
“The United States is very plugged into what’s going on in Venezuela, the chatter among Maduro’s people and the highest levels of his regime,” an administration official said.
“Maduro is very scared, and he should be scared. The president has options on the table that are very bad for Maduro and his illegitimate regime… We view this regime as illegitimate, and it’s not serving the Western Hemisphere well.”
According to CBS, “potential operations” included “strikes on land.” The report was based on sources CBS did not name.
ABC suggested air strikes on seaports, airports, and military facilities were likely, although options could include a team to either capture or kill Maduro.
The Washington Post report said the elite Delta Force could be used as well.
About 15,000 American troops are in the region, Navy assets include the Ford, the guided missile cruisers USS Gettysburg and USS Lake Erie; the destroyers USS Mahan, USS Bainbridge, USS Winston S. Churchill, USS Gravely, and USS Stockdale; and the amphibious ships USS Iwo Jima, USS Fort Lauderdale, and USS San Antonio.
Alexander Gray, who worked in the first Trump administration, noted that Venezuela’s government is “almost inseparable from the narcotraffickers.”
“To the extent that we can have regime change that occurs from an internal source, that’s ideal,” Gray said. “But I think where we’re headed is that this regime, as currently constituted, poses a direct threat to U.S. national interests, and that is why the president has taken the action that he has.”
On Friday, White House representative Anna Kelly said Trump’s goal is very clear, according to The New York Times.
“The president has made clear that he will continue to strike narco-terrorists trafficking illicit narcotics, anything else is speculation, and should be treated as such,” she said.
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