Senior military officials briefed US President Donald Trump on revised options for potential operations in Venezuela, including ground strikes and targeted actions against key figures, several people familiar with the White House meetings told CBS News on Thursday.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations, said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and other top defense leaders presented a series of updated military plans during a closed-door session at the White House earlier this week. These plans, developed under the umbrella of Operation Southern Spear – the Trump administration's expanding anti-narcotics campaign in Latin America – encompass a spectrum of responses, from precision airstrikes on drug production facilities and trafficking routes to more aggressive ground incursions aimed at disrupting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's alleged ties to narco-trafficking networks. Two individuals with direct knowledge of the briefings emphasized to CBS News that no final decision has been reached, with Trump expressing reservations about operations that could endanger American personnel or escalate into a broader conflict.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to comment on the specifics of the meetings, stating only that "the President is committed to protecting American lives from the scourge of drugs pouring across our borders." A Pentagon spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, similarly offered no response, citing operational security. However, US intelligence agencies, including the CIA and NSA, have provided critical assessments to underpin the planning, focusing on Maduro's purported role in facilitating cocaine shipments through Venezuelan ports and airstrips, according to the sources.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, a combat veteran and former Democratic congresswoman who assumed the role in February 2025, did not participate in the briefings as she was en route back from a classified intelligence-sharing mission in the Middle East. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, confirmed unanimously by the Senate in January 2025 as the first Latino to hold the position, was absent due to his attendance at the G7 foreign ministers' summit in Ottawa, Canada, where discussions centered on global migration pressures and hemispheric security. Rubio, a vocal critic of Maduro's regime, has been a key architect of the administration's Venezuela strategy, advocating for a blend of diplomatic isolation and military pressure to force regime change.
The timing of the briefing coincides with a dramatic escalation in US military posture in the Western Hemisphere. Earlier this week, the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group – the world's largest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, capable of deploying up to 75 aircraft including F-35 stealth fighters – transited into the area of responsibility for US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees operations in Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. Accompanied by guided-missile destroyers such as the USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan, the group now operates alongside an existing flotilla of eight warships, a nuclear submarine, and special operations units already positioned in the region. This deployment, announced by Hegseth on November 10, boosts the US troop presence in Latin America to approximately 15,000, including Marine Expeditionary Units from the USS Iwo Jima. Pentagon officials describe the move as a "show of force" to deter illicit activities, though Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López has decried it as "imperial aggression," placing Venezuela's 200,000-strong military and militia on high alert.
This buildup follows two months of aggressive US military interdictions against suspected drug-smuggling vessels originating from South America. Since early September 2025, when President Trump authorized the strikes under an executive "execute order" invoking Article II powers and designating Latin American cartels as terrorist entities, the US military has conducted at least 20 lethal operations targeting 21 vessels – 11 in the Caribbean Sea and 10 in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The campaign, which expanded from traditional Coast Guard boardings to direct airstrikes using drones and missiles from destroyers, has resulted in the deaths of at least 80 suspected traffickers, according to official tallies released by the Department of War.
One notable mission in late October targeted two semi-submersible "narco-subs" off Colombia's coast, killing 14 individuals in a single engagement, as documented in declassified video footage shared by Hegseth on social media. Only two survivors have been reported across all strikes: a Colombian national repatriated to Bogotá and an Ecuadorian man returned to Quito, where local authorities released him after finding insufficient evidence of criminal involvement. The administration has released limited visual evidence – grainy videos showing explosions and floating debris purportedly containing cocaine or fentanyl – but has faced criticism for lacking forensic proof linking the vessels to specific cartels like Tren de Aragua or the Sinaloa syndicate.
Legal experts and lawmakers have raised alarms over the strikes' compliance with international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which governs high-seas interdictions. A classified briefing to Congress on November 6 revealed that the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel has deemed the actions lawful only against maritime targets, not land-based ones inside Venezuela, due to the absence of a congressional Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against cartels. Senate Democrats, led by Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, attempted to pass a war powers resolution requiring congressional approval for any escalation, but it was blocked along party lines on November 7. Supporters, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), argue the operations fall under self-defense against "narco-terrorists" poisoning American communities with fentanyl, which claimed over 70,000 US lives last year.
The Venezuela focus stems from longstanding US accusations that Maduro's government provides safe haven for drug lords, with ports like La Guaira allegedly used to ship tons of cocaine northward. An October 15 CIA authorization for covert operations inside Venezuela, confirmed by Trump, aims to sabotage these networks and build opposition to Maduro, though details remain classified. Diplomatic overtures, led by special envoy Richard Grenell, collapsed last month after Maduro rejected demands to relinquish power or extradite cartel leaders. Trump has publicly mused about seizing Venezuela's vast oil reserves as "reparations," a notion echoed in planning documents reviewed by The New York Times.
At a defense summit on Wednesday in Fort Wayne, Indiana – the 4th Annual Northeast Indiana Defense Summit hosted by Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) at Purdue University Fort Wayne – Hegseth expounded on the administration's drug war. Addressing industry leaders and policymakers, the former Fox News host-turned-Secretary of War – sworn in January 2025 after a contentious confirmation – lambasted the prior administration's "woke and weak" military, vowing to streamline weapons procurement and prioritize counter-narcotics tech like the "Golden Dome" missile defense system being developed by local firm L3Harris. "We're treating these cartels like the al-Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere," Hegseth declared, drawing applause from the audience of 500. "With lawyers on lawyers ensuring every authority is met, we're defending the homeland from poison at our doorstep."
The summit, which highlighted Indiana's role as home to the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane – the US Navy's third-largest base – underscored domestic industrial ties to the Venezuela effort. Hegseth previewed reforms to accelerate acquisition of drones and precision munitions, critical for potential land operations discussed in the Trump briefing. Protesters gathered outside, chanting against "imperialism," but security was tight, with no disruptions reported.
Internationally, the moves have strained alliances. Britain halted intelligence-sharing on drug vessels last month, citing concerns over the strikes' proportionality. Mexico and Colombia, key partners in counter-narcotics, have urged restraint, fearing blowback from empowered cartels. In Istanbul, where Turkish officials hosted a parallel security forum, diplomats whispered of echoes to the 1989 Panama invasion – a US operation that toppled a dictator but left lasting regional scars.
As Trump weighs his next move, the stakes are immense. A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll from early October showed 71% public support for destroying drug boats, but approval dips sharply for ground incursions. With midterm elections looming and overdose deaths down 15% this year – partly attributed to the strikes – political calculus intertwines with strategic risks. Sources close to the President say he seeks a "big win" without "another forever war," but Maduro's defiance leaves few off-ramps.
The briefings mark a pivotal moment in Trump's second term, blending his "America First" ethos with hawkish interventionism. Whether they lead to de-escalation or the first US boots on Venezuelan soil remains unclear, but the carrier group's hum in Caribbean waters serves as a thunderous reminder: the clock is ticking.
