Trump Says He’s ‘Sort of’ Made Up His Mind on Military Action Against Venezuela

President Donald Trump said he has tentatively decided on whether the United States will attack Venezuela militarily over drug trafficking.

As he spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One on Nov. 14, Trump was asked specifically whether he had decided on action against Venezuela. The president said, “I sort of have made up my mind. Yeah.

“I mean, I can’t tell you what it would be, but I sort of made up my mind,” he said. “We’ll see what happens. I mean, I can’t tell you what it is but we’ve made a lot of progress on Venezuela in terms of stopping drugs from pouring in.”

Trump’s comments come as U.S. forces are massing in the Caribbean Sea. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and three destroyer escorts reached the region this week, adding their forces to a naval buildup that already includes the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and multiple other warships.

While U.S. forces have yet to attack Venezuela directly, they have carried out numerous strikes on suspected drug boats in the region since September.

The first strike in this ongoing U.S. military campaign targeted a vessel which U.S. officials said was operated by Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal organization the Trump administration had designated as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year. Trump went on to allege that Tren de Aragua is operating under the control of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The U.S. government has held that Maduro is not legitimately elected, and the Department of Justice has indicted him on drug trafficking charges, allegations the Venezuelan leader denies.

Maduro and his lieutenants are not idly sitting by as Trump expands U.S. military capabilities in the region and toys with the idea of strikes on land. As the Ford Carrier Strike Group arrived in the region this week, Venezuelan Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino López announced nearly 200,000 Venezuelan troops had mobilized throughout the country.

Trump has offered mixed messages in recent weeks regarding his willingness to involve the United States in a direct conflict with Venezuela over the trafficking of illicit drugs.

Last month, Trump suggested that after initial success with U.S. strikes on suspected drug traffickers at sea, he was considering strikes on land-based targets. That same day, he announced he had authorized the CIA to conduct new covert actions inside Venezuela.

On Oct. 31, Trump said he was not considering U.S. strikes on Venezuela.

In an interview with CBS News that aired on Nov. 2, Trump said he doubts there will be a war between the United States and Venezuela, but also said Maduro’s days in power are numbered.