Media: Trump administration drafting plans for drone strikes inside Venezuela

US military officials are preparing options for potential strikes inside Venezuela targeting drug traffickers, with operations possibly beginning within weeks, four sources told NBC News. 

The sources, including two U.S. officials and two others familiar with the discussions, said President Donald Trump has not yet approved the plans. 

The proposals focus on drone strikes against drug trafficking leaders and labs. 

“We’ll see what happens. Venezuela is sending us their gang members, their drug dealers and drugs. It’s not acceptable,” Trump said earlier this month. 

In recent weeks, the US military struck at least three Venezuelan boats allegedly carrying traffickers, though officials have not provided evidence drugs were on all vessels. 

A Dominican Republic official and one from the US Embassy there said drugs were recovered after one strike. Trump confirmed a September 2 operation against a vessel run by the Tren de Aragua gang.

Officials say the escalation stems from frustration that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is not doing enough to curb narcotics flows. Some in Washington are disappointed that military pressure has not weakened Maduro’s grip on power. 

NBC reported that intermediaries from allied Middle Eastern countries have relayed possible concessions from Maduro, though details remain undisclosed.

Trump administration officials have not ruled out regime change. 

“Trump is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” a senior official said. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has pushed for ousting Maduro, while special envoy Ric Grenell is advocating diplomacy.

Analyst Anibal Sanchez Ismayel warned, “An attack on Venezuelan soil would have consequences from diplomatic protests to an increase in political persecutions of those they classify as collaborators, to further uniting the population with the need to defend sovereignty reaffirmed.”

The US recently deployed at least eight ships with 4,000 personnel and F-35 jets to the region. 

“You don’t move that many resources down there without looking at all options,” one source said, adding, “You can’t keep that kind of firepower in the Caribbean forever.”

In 2020, the Justice Department indicted Maduro on drug charges, and the U.S. raised the reward for his arrest to $50 million. Venezuela is considered a key transit point for cocaine but not a fentanyl source.

Maduro recently sent Trump a letter seeking dialogue, confirmed by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. 

“Frankly, I think there were a lot of lies that were repeated by Maduro in that letter, and the administration’s position on Venezuela has not changed,” she said. “We view the Maduro regime as illegitimate, and the president has clearly shown that he’s willing to use any and all means necessary to stop the illegal trafficking of deadly drugs from the Venezuelan regime into the United States of America.”

Despite tensions, coordination has continued on deportation flights, with 54 conducted through September 19, according to officials.

By Sabina Mammadli