President Donald Trump suggested he has made up his mind on a course of action in Venezuela following multiple high-level briefings this week and a mounting US show of force in the region.
Officials briefed Trump this week on options for military operations inside Venezuela, four sources told CNN, as he weighs the risks and benefits of launching a scaled-up campaign to potentially oust President Nicolás Maduro. The US military, meanwhile, has amassed more than a dozen warships and 15,000 troops into the region as part of what the Pentagon branded “Operation Southern Spear.”
The president indicated Friday he was drawing closer to a path forward on his attempts to cut down on illegal flows of migrants and drugs — and the possibility of regime change.
“I sort of have made up my mind — yeah. I mean, I can’t tell you what it would be, but I sort of have,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked directly about those meetings and whether he had made a decision.
A small group, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, briefed the president on Wednesday. A larger national security team, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top officials, met with Trump in the Situation Room on Thursday, according to a US official.
Trump and his team reviewed target options during both meetings.
Trump has been presented a wide range of options for Venezuela, including air strikes on military or government facilities and drug-trafficking routes, or a more direct attempt to take out Maduro. CNN previously reported that the president was considering plans to target cocaine production facilities and drug-trafficking routes inside Venezuela.
It’s also possible he decides to forgo any action. Trump said last month he had authorized the CIA to operate in the country, but administration officials told lawmakers last week that the US didn’t have a legal justification that would support attacks against any land targets — though it is possible they could generate one. Trump recently told CBS’ “60 Minutes” he was not considering strikes inside Venezuela, despite earlier sounding open to the idea.
The president has, in meetings, seemed wary of ordering actions that could end in failure or put US troops at risk, according to people familiar with the matter.
CNN
