Overview
- Reports from the Wall Street Journal and the Miami Herald say U.S. officials have identified targets inside Venezuela and could launch airstrikes within days or hours.
- Asked aboard Air Force One, President Donald Trump said he is not planning attacks, and a White House spokesperson dismissed the media accounts that relied on unnamed sources.
- The U.S. has concentrated significant forces in the region, including eight Navy ships, F-35 fighters in Puerto Rico, recent B‑52 and B‑1 flights, and a carrier strike group led by USS Gerald R. Ford moving into the Caribbean.
- Since September, U.S. operations at sea against suspected drug-running vessels have left at least 61 people dead, prompting the U.N. human-rights chief to warn the actions could constitute extrajudicial executions.
- Venezuela has pursued military assistance from Russia, China, and Iran, and opposition figure María Corina Machado questioned the effectiveness of a mediation role proposed by Brazil’s President Lula.