The U.S. is mulling military strikes on cartel-associated targets in Venezuela, multiple sources told the Wall Street Journal Thursday.
The possible strikes would reportedly include among the targets Venezuelan military airports and seaports involved in the illicit drug trade. They would serve an additional purpose of warning dictator Nicolás Maduro he should step down from power, sources with knowledge of the matter told the WSJ.
The strikes could reportedly happen in a matter of days or hours, sources with knowledge of the situation told the Miami Herald Friday. President Donald Trump has stepped up his pressure campaign against the South American leader, taking a more forceful military posture than during his first term.
Most recently, the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group was deployed to the Caribbean Sea October 24, adding to an already impressive U.S. presence off the Venezuelan coast in international waters. The Trump administration deployed naval assets to the southern Caribbean in August following their designation of Latin American cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).
The White House told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the anonymous sources reporting the story “don’t know what they’re talking about,” and that “any announcements regarding Venezuela policy would come directly from the President.”
The Pentagon deferred to the White House when asked for comment.
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