US ‘preparing options’ for strikes inside Venezuela – NBC

The US is “preparing options” for strikes on alleged drug traffickers inside Venezuela, NBC has reported, citing unnamed American officials.

In recent weeks, Washington has sunk at least three boats it alleges were carrying narcotics off the coast of the Latin American country, killing at least 17 people. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has denied any links to drug trafficking and insists that the attacks were part of a US attempt to overthrow him.

The bombing of Venezuela could happen “in a matter of weeks,” the broadcaster reported on Saturday. However, according to its sources, the measure has not yet been approved by US President Donald Trump.

According to the officials, the moves being discussed in Washington mainly include drone strikes on drug laboratories as well as members and leaders of trafficking groups.

The US is considering further escalations because some in the Trump administration are disappointed that the deployment of US warships and aircraft to the Caribbean and attacks on boats did “not appear to have weakened Maduro’s grip on power or prompted any significant response,” one of the sources said.

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 administration official told NBC.

At the same time, the US and Venezuela have been talking to each other through unspecified Middle Eastern intermediaries, with Maduro allegedly offering some concessions to Trump in order to defuse tensions, a source told the broadcaster.

In his address to the UN General Assembly on Friday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto condemned the US for the “illegal and completely immoral military threat hanging over our heads.”

The minister insisted that Caracas will resist what he called “imperialist aggression” and asked for the support of the international community.

“Venezuela will not yield to pressure or threats. We remain firm in defending our sovereignty and our right to live in peace, free from foreign interference,” he said.