Trump briefed this week on options for military operations in Venezuela

CNN President Donald Trump was briefed this week on options for military operations inside Venezuela as he continues to mull a path forward in the country four sources advised CNN Trump has yet to decide on how to proceed and he continues to weigh the risks and benefits of launching a scaled-up campaign The president has previously voiced reservations about taking military action meant to oust Nicolas Maduro concerned about whether it would prove effective While Wednesday s briefing included an updated set of options for the president to consider it did not indicate that he s closer to making a decision one of the people announced Another source familiar with the briefing reported the options were similar to those that have been discussed within the Pentagon and a few publicly disclosed in fresh weeks The target options which United States Southern Command has stood up planning cells to develop are part of an operation dubbed SOUTHERN SPEAR according to a senior US official aware of the planning They were presented by top agents on Trump s national safeguard unit including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen Dan Caine Hegseth broadcasted the operation on X Thursday night though he did not reveal details Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and SOUTHCOM this mission defends our Homeland removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people The Western Hemisphere is America s neighborhood and we will protect it Hegseth wrote Southern Command had previously informed an operation called Operation Southern Spear in January An announcement at the time explained it would utilize long-dwell robotic surface vessels small robotic interceptor boats and vertical take-off and landing robotic air vessels to help with counternarcotics operations The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on Southern Spear The White House did not comment on the briefing The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford billed by the US Navy as the preponderance capable adaptable and lethal combat platform in the world arrived in the Caribbean this week amid a massive scale-up of US military materials Trump has been presented a wide range of options for Venezuela including air strikes on military or leadership facilities and drug trafficking routes or a more direct attempt to take out Maduro CNN had previously disclosed that the president was considering plans to target cocaine facilities and drug trafficking routes inside Venezuela It s also doable he decides to forgo any action at all Administration functionaries notified lawmakers last week that the US didn t have a legal justification that would promotion attacks against any land targets though it is viable they could generate one And Trump in recent days narrated CBS Minutes he was not considering strikes inside Venezuela despite earlier sounding open to the idea And the president has in meetings seemed wary of ordering actions that could end in failure or put US troops at pitfall according to people familiar with the matter