US plans to bomb Venezuela in latest phase of its war on cartels
The targets could be struck by air within days or hours as the US looks to break down the cartel's hierarchy
The US government could order strikes on military targets in Venezuela at any moment as part of its war on cartels.
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Sources have confirmed to both The Miami Herald and the Wall Street Journal that the administration is planning air strikes on naval and air bases inside the South American nation, which it says is used by drug-trafficking organisations.
The targets could be struck by air within days or hours as the US looks to break down the cartel's hierarchy, which officials say is headed by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and run by members of his regime.
Although Maduro is not considered a target at this time, a source told the Herald that his time is running out.
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The source said: "Maduro is about to find himself trapped and might soon discover that he cannot flee the country even if he decided to.
"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."
Just a couple of days ago, Venezuela said it had captured a group of mercenaries with alleged ties to the CIA, accusing them of plotting a “false flag operation” designed to trigger a military confrontation with the United States.
In a statement issued by Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez, Nicolás Maduro’s government said the alleged group was operating in waters near Trinidad and Tobago with the goal of “generating a full-scale military confrontation” against Venezuela.
No further details have been provided, and the identities of those detained have not been made public.
However, the statement claimed the men were acting “with direct information of the American intelligence agency.”
The claims come as the United States increases its military presence in the Caribbean, with around 10,000 troops, a contingent of marines, and at least ten warships now in the region.
Maduro has accused the US of "inventing a new eternal war" after it deployed the world's largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean Sea.
He made the remarks on state media after it emerged America’s feared USS Gerald R. Ford was making its way to the region following a series of fatal strikes on South American drug boats.
The US has launched at least 10 strikes on vessels allegedly belonging to Venezuelan and Colombian cartels since September.
It comes after Donald Trump declared the US was in an "armed conflict" with cartels.
This is the same legal rationale the US previously used to target terrorist organisations, including al-Qaeda and ISIS.