The US military could start bombing targets inside Venezuela within a matter of weeks, according to a report from NBC News that was published on Saturday.
Sources told NBC that US military officials were drawing up options for striking alleged drug traffickers inside Venezuela, though the report said that so far, no plans have been approved by President Trump.
CNN also previously reported that the Trump administration was considering launching strikes inside Venezuela and was considering hitting targets with the goal of weakening Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The US has accused the Venezuelan president of being the leader of a cartel, meaning he could be a potential target. The Venezuelan government has strongly denied the US allegations and recently announced additional military deployments to combat drug shipments from Colombia.
Since early September, the US has bombed at least three boats in the Caribbean that it claimed were carrying drugs. According to numbers released by President Trump, 17 people have been extrajudicially executed in the operations.
US officials have told The New York Times that while combating drug trafficking was the pretext for the recent military action in the Caribbean, the ultimate goal is regime change in Venezuela. The policy is being driven by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has long sought the overthrow of Maduro.
The NBC report said that some Trump administration officials were disappointed that the US military escalations in the region had not impacted Maduro’s grip on power or prompted any significant response. One official said that the White House has faced more pushback over bombing boats in the region than it expected. Recent polling shows the majority of Americans are opposed to the US military using force to carry out regime change in Venezuela.
While tensions are soaring between the US and Venezuela, they continue to cooperate on the deportation of Venezuelan citizens from the US. Ric Grenell, a special envoy for President Trump, has stated that he remains in communication with the Venezuelan government, and the NBC report said that Middle Eastern leaders have been mediating talks between the two sides.
