Senior U.S. officials have indicated that Washington is preparing to strike military installations in Venezuela, marking a major escalation in tensions between the two nations. President Donald Trump recently confirmed he had authorized CIA covert operations inside the country and hinted at possible land operations following a series of maritime strikes on vessels near the Venezuelan coast.
Now, according to a new Miami Herald report, the White House has decided to move forward with military strikes on Venezuelan targets. Sources familiar with the plan said “the strikes could come at any moment,” with the objective of dismantling key infrastructure linked to the so-called “Cartel of the Suns,” a powerful network tied to Venezuela’s military elite:
The planned attacks, also reported by the Wall Street Journal, will seek to destroy military installations used by the drug-trafficking organization the U.S. says is headed by Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and run by top members of his regime.
While sources declined to say whether Maduro himself is a target, one of them said his time is running out.
“Maduro is about to find himself trapped and might soon discover that he cannot flee the country even if he decided to,” the source said. “What’s worse for him, there is now more than one general willing to capture and hand him over, fully aware that one thing is to talk about death, and another to see it coming.”
Washington has doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million—the largest such bounty ever offered—and currently offers $25 million rewards for the capture of some of his top lieutenants, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who is believed to run cartel operations. Another key regime figure facing U.S. drug-trafficking charges is Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López.
One source told the Herald the strikes may begin within days — or even hours.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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