Overview
- Multiple outlets citing unnamed U.S. officials report the administration has decided to hit targets inside Venezuela, with strikes possible within hours.
- Proposed targets include army-controlled ports, airports and other military facilities alleged to facilitate drug shipments, with objectives that include crippling the cartel’s leadership.
- The Pentagon has surged forces into the Caribbean, including the carrier Gerald R. Ford, the Iwo Jima amphibious group, destroyers such as USS Gravely, B-52 and B-1 reconnaissance flights, and thousands of personnel.
- President Trump has acknowledged authorizing CIA covert operations in Venezuela, and the Justice Department has raised its reward for information leading to Nicolás Maduro’s arrest to $50 million.
- Analysts highlight limited public evidence linking Venezuela to fentanyl production even as cocaine transit is documented, and reports warn of escalation risks given Caracas’s Russian-supplied defenses like Kh-31 anti-ship missiles.