Overview
- Media reports from the Wall Street Journal and Miami Herald say U.S. officials have flagged Venezuelan military facilities as potential targets, with options that could be executed within hours or days to disrupt trafficking networks and pressure Nicolás Maduro.
- Asked on Air Force One whether he had decided on or was considering strikes inside Venezuela, President Donald Trump answered "No," and a White House spokeswoman dismissed the anonymously sourced reports.
- The United States has carried out at least 14 strikes on small vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since early September, killing dozens, as part of a campaign against groups Washington labels narco‑terrorists.
- A large U.S. force remains positioned in the region, including the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group and advanced aircraft, and Trump has publicly confirmed authorizing CIA covert operations related to Venezuela.
- Legal and diplomatic pushback is intensifying, with the U.N. human rights chief calling the boat strikes "unacceptable" and lawmakers demanding transparency on the administration’s war‑powers rationale and evidence for targets.