U.S. President Donald Trump was recently briefed by his top national security advisors on a range of military options for operations inside Venezuela, a significant escalation in rhetoric and planning as a massive American naval force gathers in the Caribbean.
According to a new report by CNN citing four sources familiar with the matter, the briefing included an updated set of potential actions for the President to consider. The options were presented by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine as part of a formalized operation code-named “SOUTHERN SPEAR.”
The military plans are reported to be wide-ranging, including potential “air strikes on military or government facilities and drug trafficking routes, or a more direct attempt to remove Maduro.” However, the sources noted that the presentation does not necessarily mean the President is closer to green-lighting a large-scale invasion, as Trump has historically expressed caution about military interventions that could put U.S. troops at risk.
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The briefing formalizes a campaign that has been underway. Defense Secretary Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear on X, stating its mission is to "defend our Homeland, remove narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secure our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people." This announcement provides a public framework for the U.S. military strikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels that have been occurring since September 2025.
The military posture has been dramatically reinforced by the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group, one of the largest and most modern in the world. Its arrival, armed with an estimated 170 Tomahawk missiles, is viewed by global security experts as a substantial escalation of force.
In response, the Nicolás Maduro regime has ordered a "massive deployment" of its own forces, placing the country's entire military arsenal on full operational readiness and announcing a state of maximum alert. The situation creates a tense standoff, with the trajectory of the crisis likely to depend on the unfolding of Operation Southern Spear and Maduro's subsequent actions.
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