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US Media Report Identified Venezuela Targets as Trump Denies Strike Plans

A UN rights rebuke over lethal boat raids intensifies scrutiny of the US military buildup in the Caribbean.

Overview

  • The Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous US officials, report that ports, airfields and naval sites allegedly linked to the Cartel de los Soles are on a target list and that airstrikes could occur in days or hours.
  • Asked aboard Air Force One, President Donald Trump replied "No" when pressed on reported plans to attack Venezuela, following a White House statement dismissing the media accounts.
  • UN human rights chief Volker Türk condemned recent US maritime operations as possible extrajudicial executions and called for the attacks to stop and for independent investigations.
  • Reports count roughly 61–62 deaths and more than a dozen small vessels destroyed since September in US actions against suspected narco‑boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
  • A substantial US presence remains in place with eight warships, F‑35s stationed in Puerto Rico and the USS Gerald R. Ford strike group, as Caracas decries a sovereignty threat and US lawmakers raise legal concerns.