High-level discussions that have been underway for days have explored a variety of military options for Venezuela, people familiar with the matter said. Following a second consecutive day of deliberations at the White House that included top national security advisers, United States ruler Donald Trump said that he’s “sort of” made up his mind about attacking Venezuela.
While the remarks were quite vague and incredibly unclear, it certainly feels as though Trump is pondering what a strike on Venezuela could look like.
According to a report by The Washington Post, earlier in the day, an administration official said “a host of options” had been presented to the president. Trump is “very good at maintaining strategic ambiguity, and something he does very well is he does not dictate or broadcast to our adversaries what he wants to do next,” the official said.
The remarks were made aboard Air Force One as the U.S. ruler traveled for the weekend to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump did not include any additional details. The comments came as U.S. forces in the region awaited possible attack orders and after days of high-level discussions about whether — and how — to strike in Venezuela, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter is highly sensitive. Joining Trump in deliberations Friday were Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, these people said.
Trump has recently called off diplomacy with Maduro. The U.S. ruling class has been accused of trying to force Madruo out by any means necessary.
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“The United States is very plugged into what’s going on in Venezuela, the chatter among Maduro’s people and the highest levels of his regime,” an anonymous administration official said. “Maduro is very scared, and he should be scared. The president has options on the table that are very bad for Maduro and his illegitimate regime. … We view this regime as illegitimate, and it’s not serving the Western Hemisphere well.”
The official said a “host” of options for dealing with Venezuela militarily have been presented to Trump, adding that the president is “very good” at not advertising and broadcasting to the “adversaries” what he might do next.