Report: White House Has Considered Military Option Against Venezuela
Tehran - BORNA - The Washington Post reported that informed sources stated Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kine returned to the White House on Friday for a second day of consultations and negotiations regarding military intervention options in Venezuela. This comes while US forces stationed in the waters surrounding the Caribbean country have been prepared to receive orders for potential attacks.
The unnamed sources said it is unclear whether US President Donald Trump has decided to attack Venezuela, but his administration has held high-level discussions over the past few days to review potential strikes against Venezuela and how to execute them. Other senior US officials participating in these consultations reportedly included Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
The White House and the Pentagon have not yet responded to the report.
According to the US newspaper, one administration official said: "A range of options have been presented to the President. He does very well at maintaining strategic ambiguity. What he does very well is he doesn't announce and dictate his next step to our adversaries."
The Washington Post noted that any US attack on Venezuelan territory would contradict Trump's repeated prior alleged promises to avoid new wars, as well as his recent claims to Congress that no active preparations for such an attack were underway. Starting such a war would also complicate US cooperation with other Latin American countries and intensify speculation that Trump is seeking to use force to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
In August, US officials increased their reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Maduro—over his alleged ties to drug cartels and fraud in the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election—from $25 million to $50 million.
The American newspaper states that although the United States military enjoys a superiority over Venezuela's military on paper, significantly expanding its activities exposes American soldiers to considerable risk.
One informed source said fighter pilots stationed on the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which has been deployed to the Caribbean region, have been reviewing Venezuelan air defenses, although they do not yet know if they will be ordered to attack. The Venezuelan Ministry of Defense has announced the extensive mobilization of nearly 200,000 air, land, and sea personnel to prepare for the country's defense.
According to two knowledgeable individuals, the US planning against Venezuela has also considered the potential involvement of Delta Force special forces. This US special operations unit is prepared for a range of capture and kill missions and has been repeatedly used for such missions in US wars over the past two decades in West Asia.
End Article