White House weighs bombing Venezuelan military installations linked to drug trafficking
The Trump administration has highlighted the Venezuelan regime's ties to narcotics trafficking and portrayed Maduro as a criminal leader.
USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier.
President Donald Trump's administration has already identified military targets in Venezuela that, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter, are used for drug smuggling. If the president authorizes airstrikes against those facilities, the action would send a direct message to dictator Nicolás Maduro: the time has come for him to leave power.
Although there is still no definitive decision, authorities indicate that the White House is evaluating a limited air offensive to strike the regime's infrastructure linked to drug trafficking, at points where military interests and criminal networks converge.
Focus on strategic infrastructure
Possible targets include ports, airstrips and naval facilities controlled by the Venezuelan armed forces and allegedly used for drug trafficking operations. Attacks within Venezuelan territory would represent a significant escalation compared to current operations, focused on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific.
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Counterdrug justification
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump is prepared to use "all the resources of American power" to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.
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Signs of military pressure
In parallel, Washington has stepped up its public and military posturing. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Venezuela a "narco-state" and compared its criminal structures to "the al Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere." Senator Rick Scott suggested that, if he were in Maduro's place, "he would go to Russia or China right now."
The United States has also beefed up its presence in the region, deploying an aircraft carrier with Tomahawk missile-equipped destroyers, F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters and EA-18 Growler aircraft. In the past two weeks, B-52 and B-1 bombers have flown close to the Venezuelan coast to assess the country's military defenses.
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