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By Seyi Babalola
U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered strikes on sites inside Venezuela, including military facilities, U.S. officials told CBS News, as the administration early Saturday ratcheted up its campaign against the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The strikes come after months of US military buildup in the region, including the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and multiple additional vessels stationed in the Caribbean.
In recent weeks, the U.S. has seized two oil tankers off Venezuela, launched deadly strikes on more than 30 boats the administration says were carrying drugs, and struck what President Trump called “the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs.”
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The Trump administration has accused Maduro of drug trafficking and working with gangs designated as terrorist organizations, which Maduro denies.
On Christmas Eve, Trump declined to say what his goal was but cautioned that if Maduro “plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’ll ever be able to play tough.”
Maduro said this week he is open to talks with the U.S. on drug trafficking, oil, and migration issues “wherever they want to, whenever they want.”
