Overview
- According to New York Times reporting cited by multiple outlets, President Trump approved CIA plans for clandestine activity inside Venezuela, with options that include sabotage, cyber operations and psychological campaigns.
- U.S. strategists have drafted potential targets tied to narcotrafficking along with military units close to Nicolás Maduro, following two Situation Room reviews of Venezuela options last week.
- Operation Lanza del Sur has placed the USS Gerald R. Ford and roughly 15,000 U.S. personnel in the Caribbean, with additional warships, a submarine and F-35 aircraft forward-positioned.
- Since Sept. 1, U.S. forces have executed 21 strikes on vessels accused of drug trafficking, resulting in at least 83 deaths and drawing legal criticism for proceeding without congressional authorization.
- Indirect contacts produced a proposal for Maduro to leave power in two to three years and to grant U.S. companies access to Venezuelan oil, an offer Washington rejected as too delayed.