Khaberni - The Trump administration has developed military options towards Venezuela, including strikes on its security units and operations targeting oil fields, according to "The New York Times" report. U.S. officials have not yet made a final decision, fearing risking American forces and the political and legal failure of the operation.
Government sources reported that presidential advisers are pushing for the option of overthrowing President Nicolas Maduro. In an attempt to establish a broader legal basis for any military escalation, White House aides have asked the Justice Department to prepare guidelines that would allow targeting high-ranking Venezuelan officials without explicit authorization from Congress to use force.
Some officials expect that the guidelines will be based on an interpretation linking Maduro and his senior officers with the "Cartel de los Soles," a designation that, according to administration sources, may justify treating them as legitimate targets despite the longstanding U.S. prohibition on the assassination of state leaders.
The administration has already expanded targeted operations against suspected drug traffickers, shifting from pursuing and arresting them at sea to carrying out strikes that have resulted in the deaths of individuals previously handled through arrest. Any effort to remove Maduro could trigger further legal and political scrutiny, especially in light of Washington's justifications: combating drug trafficking, the need for oil resources, and claims that Maduro's government sent prisoners and criminals to the United States.
President Trump told CBS, responding to a question about a possible war with Venezuela: "I doubt it. I don’t think so, but they have treated us badly, not just in the drug file." He repeated his claim, without evidence, that Maduro has opened the prisons and sent "Tren de Aragua" gang members to the United States, adding: "I believe Maduro’s days are numbered."
The report indicates that acting Foreign Secretary Marco Rubio and other close advisers to the president are among those driving the option to overthrow. However, Trump has expressed his reservations fearing the failure of the operation, and repeatedly asking "what we will get" in return, with a special focus on the potential to benefit from Venezuelan oil. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement: "The President was clear in his message to Maduro: Stop sending drugs and criminals to our country. The President will continue to strike at drug traffickers, any other talk is just speculation."
The political debate is accompanied by a military field escalation. Trump will not be asked to make a final decision before the arrival of the aircraft carrier "Gerald R. Ford" in the Caribbean mid-month; the carrier carries about 5,000 sailors and over 75 attack, reconnaissance, and support aircraft.
Since late August, the region has seen continuous reinforcements of American forces, with about 10,000 U.S. military personnel in the Caribbean, half of them aboard ships and the other half at bases in Puerto Rico.
The U.S. Defense Department has sent B-52 and B-1 bombers to conduct flights near Venezuelan coasts, in what military officials described as a show of force. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment carried out exercises off the coasts, a specialized unit that has carried out offensive operations and transport and support missions in previous battlefields. Analysts believe that the speed and scale of this announced buildup are part of a psychological pressure campaign on the Venezuelan leadership.
Trump openly discussed the possibility of authorizing the Central Intelligence Agency to carry out covert operations inside Venezuela, a step rarely announced in advance by American presidents.
Analysts affirm that any decision to take action inside Venezuela involves significant military, legal, and political risks, particularly as previous American strikes against targets in Iran were not intended to overthrow the regime there. There are no guarantees that a similar endeavor in Venezuela would succeed or lead to a more friendly government to Washington. The focus within the administration appears to be on how to strike at the regime, more than planning for what will happen on the ground afterward.
