Trump finalizes a list of civil and military objectives inside Venezuela to overthrow the Maduro regime

The Administration of Donald Trump is finalizing a list of infrastructure inside Venezuela that could become targets of an air operation aimed at increasing pressure on the Government of Nicolas Maduro.

American sources consulted by The Wall Street Journal They point out that the objectives analyzed include ports and airfields controlled by the Venezuelan Armed Forces. All of them suspected, according to Washington, of being involved in cocaine trafficking to the United States.

If carried out, the main objective of the bombings would be to send a direct signal to the Venezuelan leader to leave power, according to those same sources, who recall that the president of the United States has promised to toughen the fight against drug trafficking networks.

The truth is that the US military deployment in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific is striking. For the moment, the actions have been limited to the attack of vessels that Washington denounces without evidence that they are linked to criminal groups. At least 14 ships have been hit and 61 crew members have died, according to official data.

The arrival of the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier battle group will substantially expand the military presence in the region in the coming weeks.

Since his arrival at the White House, Trump has insisted on stopping the entry of drugs from Latin America. Of them, more than 48,000 died from overdoses of synthetic opioids and 22,000 from cocaine. Fentanyl is mainly produced in Mexico from chemical components from China. But the Republican Administration focuses its speech on the alleged involvement of Caracas in the business.

The offensive is not only military. US diplomacy has begun a public campaign to present Maduro as the head of a criminal organization that intends to flood the United States with narcotics. Without providing evidence, several senior officials have described Venezuela as a “center of international terrorism” and have stated that the Venezuelan Executive controls the cartels.

The Secretary of State and National Security Advisor of the country, Marco Rubiohas assumed a leading role in that strategy. “We are facing narcoterrorists, the equivalent of Al Qaeda in the Western Hemisphere,” he declared to the press a few days ago.

Other Trump allies have encouraged Maduro to leave the country. The senator Rick Scott He stated that, if he were in the place of the Venezuelan autocrat, he would “head toward Russia or China.”

For years, the United States has been betting on causing a rupture in the barracks or a social uprising. But, to this day, the Venezuelan Armed Forces continue to support the president and there have been no significant protests in the streets.

Trump, meanwhile, plays the game of distraction. This afternoon he denied that he plans to bomb targets in Venezuela. Last week, however, he stated that “the next thing” will be to bomb his territory.