Overview
- The Wall Street Journal and Miami Herald reported that U.S. officials have identified Venezuelan military-controlled airports and ports as potential targets, with some sources suggesting strikes could come soon.
- Asked aboard Air Force One on Oct. 31, President Trump said he is not considering strikes inside Venezuela and had not made a decision to attack.
- The U.S. has expanded its regional presence, sending the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group and deploying destroyers, bombers, surveillance aircraft, Marines and at least one submarine to the Caribbean.
- Since early September, U.S. forces have carried out at least 14 strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, with officials saying about 61 people were killed.
- The operations face mounting scrutiny, with Democrats decrying selective congressional briefings and the U.N. human-rights chief condemning the boat attacks as unlawful, while Trump has confirmed CIA covert authority in Venezuela.