“Smell” of war in Venezuela… President Donald Trump is considering plans to unleash strikes on cocaine facilities and drug-trafficking routes within the Latin American country, though he has not yet made a decision on whether to proceed, three US officials told CNN.
The “public signs” of Friday pointed to a possible major military escalation, with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordering the US Navy’s most advanced carrier strike group currently stationed in Europe to head to the Caribbean region amid a massive build-up of US forces there. Trump has also authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
The US president has not ruled out pursuing a diplomatic approach with Venezuela to stem the flow of drugs to the US, two officials said, even after the administration broke off active talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in recent weeks. Venezuela is not known to be a major source of cocaine, but the Trump administration has been aggressively trying to link Maduro to the drug trade.
“There are plans on the table that the president is considering” about operations on targets inside Venezuela, a government official told CNN, adding that “he has not ruled out diplomacy.”
A second official, who was directly involved in some of the discussions, said there are many proposals that have been put to the president. A third official said planning is happening across the government, but the focus at the highest levels right now is on anti-narcotics operations inside Venezuela.
Trump has escalated his rhetoric about possible ground attacks inside Venezuela in recent days, while the US military has consistently carried out attacks on suspected drug vessels in international waters. The latest was a nighttime attack on an alleged drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean, killing six people and bringing the total number of known vessels targeted to 10, and the death toll to 43 since the US began its campaign last month, according to Hegseth.
Dozens of US military assets have been deployed to the Caribbean.
The United States has developed more than 4,500 marines and sailors, along with a significant portion of their warships and aircraft in the Caribbean, to enhance operations against the cartels and to demonstrate military power in the region.
Source :Skai
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