Khaberni - CBS reported from informed sources that senior military officials provided President Donald Trump with updated options for potential operations in Venezuela, while the US military announced a military operation named "Operation Southern Spear" to combat drug trafficking.
Sources revealed that the potential options included conducting ground attacks.
Sources indicated that War Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chief, and other officials briefed Trump on the military options available for the coming days, but two informed sources confirmed to the channel that no final decision has yet been taken regarding potential operations in Venezuela.
Meanwhile, the US War Secretary announced an American military operation, saying it would target "drug-linked terrorists" in the Western Hemisphere.
Hegseth said in a post on the X platform, "Today: Operation Southern Spear is announced, the Joint Task Force Command Southern Spear and the Southern Command aim to protect our nation, remove drug-linked terrorists from the Western Hemisphere, and secure our country against drugs that kill our people."
In this context, the Washington Post said that the Office of Legal Counsel of the US Department of Justice issued a secret opinion that the soldiers involved in military strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean would not be prosecuted in the future.
The newspaper confirmed that the opinion considers that the United States is in a non-international armed conflict that allows strikes according to the president's authorities under Article Two of the Constitution.
Meanwhile, a War Department official said on Thursday that the United States launched its twentieth raid this week on boats suspected of being used in drug trafficking.
The official added, "The strike (on a boat) occurred in the Caribbean area, and 4 terrorists involved in drug trafficking were killed, and no one survived."
The official mentioned, that 79 people were killed, two were injured and returned to their countries, while the Mexican authorities attempted one rescue at sea following these raids.
It should be noted that in August last year, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order for increased military use under the pretext of combating drug gangs in Latin America.
Washington announced the dispatch of warships and a submarine off the coast of Venezuela, while American Defense Secretary Hegseth said that the military is ready for operations including regime change in Venezuela.
Venezuelan Response
In response, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in a meeting with "CNN", called on the American people to unite with Venezuela for peace in the region.
Maduro ordered, on Wednesday, the formation of national defense commands, while Reuters reported that Caracas began deploying weapons including Russian-made equipment, and plans resistance operations similar to guerrilla warfare in the event of an American air or ground attack.
Reuters, citing its sources, reported that the Venezuelan government is planning to adopt two possible strategies in the event of an American attack, one of which is defense in the style of guerrilla warfare, termed by the government "protracted resistance," mentioned on official television programs.
This method involves small military units at more than 280 locations carrying out acts of sabotage and other guerrilla warfare tactics, according to sources and old planning documents of these methods reviewed by Reuters.
The second strategy, named "Chaos," uses intelligence agencies and armed supporters of the ruling party to create a state of chaos in the streets of the capital, Caracas, making Venezuela ungovernable by foreign forces, according to a source informed about defense efforts and another source close to the opposition.
The attacks launched by the US military on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, purportedly for drug trafficking, and the direct targeting of individuals on board, stirred controversy in the international community over extrajudicial killings.
