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President Donald Trump is considering several military options against the regime of Nicolás Maduro, which include direct attacks on Venezuelan units, operations to seize oil fields, and covert actions by the CIA within the South American country, according to a report by the U.S. newspaper The New York Times released on Tuesday.
The report cited multiple U.S. officials who confirmed that the White House has developed three action plans, although the president has yet to make a final decision.
Among the discussed options are selective airstrikes against military bases that protect chavismo; special operations by commandos, such as Delta Force or SEAL Team 6, to capture or eliminate Maduro; and a limited deployment of U.S. troops to secure key airports and oil fields in the Zulia region.
The outlet noted that the Department of Justice is working on a legal justification that would allow the president to order those attacks without congressional approval, arguing that Maduro leads a narcoterrorist organization known as the "Cartel of the Suns."
That classification would open the door to considering him a legitimate target, despite the legal prohibition against assassinating foreign leaders.
"The president has been clear: Maduro must stop sending drugs and criminals to the United States," stated a White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, as quoted by the NYT. "Everything else is speculation."
According to the report, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also the acting National Security Advisor, and Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior advisor, are the main advocates for direct action.
Both maintain that Maduro will only leave power by force, while the president has expressed concerns about the political and military risks of a failed intervention.
The article from the New York Times also detailed a rapid military buildup in the Caribbean, with 10,000 personnel, B-52 and B-1 bombers, and the USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, set to arrive in the region in mid-November.
The newspaper describes these maneuvers as part of a campaign of psychological pressure on the Chavista regime.
Trump has publicly declared that "Maduro's days are numbered," but he denied that the country is heading toward an open war. However, the NYT argues that his administration is seeking a "legal basis" to eliminate the Venezuelan leader or provoke his internal collapse without having to declare formal hostilities.
The report also revealed that Maduro offered oil and mining concessions to Washington to avoid an escalation, but Trump rejected the proposal in October, accelerating military reinforcement.
The White House, according to the New York newspaper, views the fall of chavismo as a strategic opportunity to secure energy resources and weaken Russian and Iranian influence in the hemisphere.
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