Probably this wasn’t the first time, but there is widespread reporting on Thursday that military options have been formally presented to President Trump by top Pentagon officials for operations against Venezuela, including including strikes on land. Reports say these options are for the “coming days”.
Meetings at the White House are being held now that the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group arrived in Caribbean waters days ago. The largest-ever ‘peacetime’ American military build-up off Venezuela is currently underway, with some 15,000 US troops total in the region.
“Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine and other senior officials briefed the president on military options for the coming days, the sources said,” CBS reports. But it also stresses, “No final decision has been made, however, two of the sources told CBS News.”
The development comes amid fresh reports of yet another alleged drug boat strike in the Caribbean Sea, bringing the total number of vessels destroyed to at least 22, which has killed some 80 or more suspected drug smugglers.
According to more via CBS:
The U.S. intelligence community assisted in providing information for potential operations, the sources said. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard did not attend White House discussions because she was returning from an overseas trip. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Canada at a G7 summit of foreign ministers.
Previously, the Washington-based Center for Strategic & International Studies laid out why an entire carrier group in Caribbean waters represents a “use it or lose it” scenario which is ultra-costly, also in terms of removing it from other parts of the world:
Moving such a major element of U.S. combat power is highly significant because of the strategic trade-off it represents. The Navy has only 11 aircraft carriers. In general, only three are at sea at any one time because of the need for maintenance and training. All the regional commanders want them. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command always wants one—as a supplement to the carrier permanently stationed in Japan to counter the Chinese navy and conduct exercises with regional allies and partners.
Central Command wants one for the Indian Ocean for use against Iran and the Houthis or in the Eastern Mediterranean to provide air defense for Israel. European Command wants one for operations around Europe to deter Russia. By contrast, the Caribbean has been a low-visibility region for decades, with carriers rarely visiting.
Of course, all of this represents something likely much more than just a renewed ‘war on drugs’ – after Trump already said that potential land strikes against cartels in Venezuela are on the table.
María Corina Machado, the far-right US-backed Venezuelan coup leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize, promised a “massive privatization” if Trump can put her in power.
She vowed to sell off $1.7 TRILLION of Venezuela’s oil, gas, gold, infrastructure, etc. to US corporations. pic.twitter.com/jH4AkFbzzk
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) November 13, 2025
At various times over the last months, Trump officials have strongly hinted at pursuing regime change against socialist strongman Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela – which is also consistent with the stance of Trump’s first term.
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