Overview
- President Trump approved CIA planning for covert operations inside Venezuela to prepare possible future actions, according to reports based on U.S. officials.
- Venezuelan representatives proposed a two- to three-year transition and expanded oil access for U.S. firms, an offer Washington deemed unacceptable as Trump kept open the possibility of talks.
- U.S. military planners drafted potential targets tied to alleged drug networks and units near Nicolás Maduro, though no large-scale ground combat has been ordered.
- Operation Lanza del Sur now fields the carrier Gerald R. Ford and about 15,000 personnel, and 21 strikes on suspected trafficking boats since September 1 have killed at least 83 people without congressional authorization.
- The State Department plans to designate the Cártel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization on November 24, and Trinidad and Tobago has hosted U.S. warships and joint drills over Venezuelan objections.