Trump says he is not considering strikes inside Venezuela

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump on Friday denied media reports that strikes on military installations inside Venezuela could be imminent, telling reporters he did not make a decision on the matter.

"Not, it's not true." Trump said aboard Air Force One when asked if he was considering strikes within Venezuela.

Several US media outlets reported that the Trump administration had decided to carry out strikes on military installations inside Venezuela as part of its alleged war against “narco-terrorism,” and that the attacks could come at any moment.

The Miami Herald reported earlier Friday that the planned strikes — covered earlier by The Wall Street Journal — are intended to destroy military installations used by the Cartel de los Soles, a drug-trafficking network the US accuses of smuggling cocaine into the country, and disrupt trafficking routes that US officials say move about 500 tons of cocaine annually.

Washington has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading the Cartel de los Soles, a criminal group based in the South American country. In July 2025, Washington had designated it a “terrorist” organization.

Sources told the Herald the targets could be struck by air within “days or even hours” while Washington has doubled its reward for information on Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro to $50 million and offers $25 million for key lieutenants such as Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.

“Maduro is about to find himself trapped and might soon discover that he cannot flee the country even if he decided to,” the Florida-based daily quoted a source as saying. “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.”

At least 14 strikes have been carried out since early September, mostly in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, killing more than 61 people.

Rights groups and legal experts have questioned the legality of the operations, arguing that US strikes on alleged drug boats violate international law.

The UN human rights chief Volker Turk called the attacks “unacceptable” and urged an independent investigation into what his office described as extrajudicial killings.

Maduro accused Washington of “fabricating” a war against his country, calling the US allegations “vulgar” and “totally fake.” He insisted that Venezuela “does not produce cocaine leaves” and said US military movements near its coast signal plans for “a new, eternal war.”