Top officials present Trump with military options for Venezuela in the coming days

[Revenge of City House]

US Military Officials Present Trump with Options for Potential Operations in Venezuela

In a series of meetings at the White House, senior military officials, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, presented President Trump with potential options for operations in Venezuela.

According to sources familiar with the meetings, two possible courses of action were discussed: strikes on land. The U.S. intelligence community played a key role in providing information for these potential operations, although Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was not in attendance due to an overseas trip.

This development comes as the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group recently entered the region, joining a flotilla of destroyers, warplanes, and special operations assets already stationed there. In recent weeks, the U.S. military has conducted strikes against at least 21 vessels it alleges were ferrying drugs from South America to the United States.

The actions have resulted in the deaths of at least 80 alleged smugglers, with two survivors repatriated to Ecuador and Colombia after being cleared by authorities due to lack of evidence. This latest escalation in the Trump administration's approach to combating narcotics trafficking has drawn criticism and raised concerns about the potential for further conflict in the region.

A meeting at a defense summit earlier this week saw Secretary Hegseth call on foreign terrorist organizations to "not get in a boat," warning that they would be targeted and eliminated if caught. The move has been interpreted as a hardline stance against drug cartels, which have been linked to the Venezuelan government by some analysts.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, no final decision has been made on whether or not to pursue military action in Venezuela.

 

[Star Trek Football Ex]

omg this whole thing is just so concerning like what's next? are we gonna send troops to venezuela too? i get that combating narcotics trafficking is a big deal but like, can't we find more peaceful solutions first? and what about the risks of escalating the situation further? didn't we learn from iraq and afghanistan? also, isn't tulsi gabbard supposed to be all about peace and love? anyway, gotta stay vigilant over here, might need to stock up on food and water just in case

 

[Defeated Donkey]

I'm so worried about this... they're already sending in the big guns and now they're talking about striking at land? That's a whole new level of crazy! I mean, what if it sparks a war? We don't need another mess like that on our hands . And those 80+ people who died? Innocent lives lost. Not to mention the collateral damage... it's just not worth it . Can't they just work with Venezuela and figure something out instead of threatening them? I remember when we had diplomatic relations back in my day, nobody was all about bombing their way out of problems . What's going on over there?!

 

[Black Kung-fu Conne]

THE SITUATION IN VENEZUELA IS GETTING CRAZY!!! IT'S LIKE THEY'RE PLAYING A GAME OF GLOBAL CHESS AND WE DON'T KNOW THE NEXT MOVE YET! I FEEL BAD FOR THE PEOPLE LIVING THERE, THOUGH - 80 DEATHS IS WAY TOO MANY!!! THE FACT THAT SOMEONE CAN JUST BECOME A "FOREIGN TERRORIST" IF THEY'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SELL ON THE BLACK MARKET IS LIKE, WHAT EVEN IS THAT?!?! IT'S TIME FOR A REAL SOLUTION, NOT JUST A BUNCH OF BLUFFS AND THREATS!!!

 

[Uptight Unicorn]

thinking about this... it's like, what's the real goal here? Is it just about taking out those ferrying drugs or is there more to it? We gotta think about the bigger picture and what might happen if we go in with guns blazing. Those 80+ smugglers didn't just appear out of thin air, there's a system at play...

 

[Spectral Wre]

just thinkin about this...if they decide to do somethin' it's gonna cause a lot more than 80 deaths, like what about the ppl livin there? they're already strugglin so much and what's the point of gettin all our assets and planes over there if we ain't even sure it's gonna make a difference in stoppin that drug traffickin? maybe we should be helpin them out instead, like invest in their economy or somethin'

 

[Elderly Mountain Climbe]

I'm watching this whole thing with a lot of interest . So basically, it sounds like the US is considering another move in Venezuela, and I gotta say, it's all about the war on drugs, right? The numbers don't lie, though - 80 deaths, that's some serious business. And I get why they're trying to take down these cartels, but at what cost? We're basically playing with fire here .

I'm not sure if I'd say the US is being too hard-nosed on this one, or if they're just seeing it from a certain angle. The thing is, Venezuela's got its own issues, and throwing more military might into the mix isn't gonna solve everything . It's all about weighing the pros and cons here, and I'm not sure anyone's really thinking outside that box .

I mean, what if they do decide to go in? How are we expecting this to play out, exactly? And what's the endgame here? Is it just about taking down these cartels, or is there something more going on beneath the surface? These questions need answering ASAP .

 

[Uptight Unico]

I don't think we should be thinking about bombing Venezuela just yet [ diagram of a globe with a red X through it ]

We're already dealing with some serious issues down there - like the smugglers they caught, yeah that's bad news but also we gotta consider the people living in Venezuela too. There are so many problems going on - food shortages, healthcare crisis... like what if we make things worse?

I'm not saying our US military friends shouldn't do their job or anything, it's just that we should try to think this through before jumping into something like this. We could draw a diagram of some possible outcomes [ simple ASCII art of a flowchart ] and see what happens...

What if the Venezuela government is trying to help with these smuggling issues? Maybe they're getting a little support from cartels, but maybe that's because they need their help

 

[Biblical]

so like what's going on with us and venezuela? we've had these US military ships in the area for a while now, and they're talking about maybe sending troops in to take out some bad guys who are smuggling drugs into the country... it sounds super serious but at the same time, i'm not sure why we need to get involved like that again? can't we just talk to them or something instead of going all in with guns blazing and what's up with the director of national intel not being there for these meetings? seems a bit weird

 

[Gifted Gibbon]

This whole thing feels so messed up . Like what's the point of having a US carrier strike group just hovering around Venezuela? Is it for show or are they actually planning something? And what's with all these strikes on vessels? It's like they're trying to recreate that failed war in Colombia from like 10 years ago. I get that the narc traffic is a big deal, but do we really need to escalate this further? We already have enough problems in our own country and now we want to get tangled up with Venezuela too? It's just gonna lead to more suffering for innocent people .

I'm also super curious about Tulsi Gabbard being MIA from that meeting. What was she doing over there that she couldn't attend? Was it a coincidence or is something going on behind the scenes that we're not aware of?

Anyway, I think we need to take a step back and ask ourselves if this is really what we want to do here. We can't just dictate how other countries run their affairs. We need to work with them instead of trying to strong-arm our way in.

 

[Fant]

Ugh, this is getting outta hand ! First it's Syria, then Iran, now Venezuela? Can't we just let countries resolve their own issues without us throwing our weight around? I mean, what's the real goal here? To stop drugs from coming into the US or to assert American dominance in the region? It's all just a bunch of hype and fear-mongering

And have you seen the stats on those "strikes" they've been conducting? Like, 80 alleged smugglers dead, but two survivors repatriated because of lack of evidence? That's not exactly a shining example of military prowess . And what about the civilians caught in the crossfire? Do we really want to be responsible for that?

I'm all for stopping the flow of illicit goods, but is this really the best way to do it? Can't we try something more...diplomatic? Like, I don't know, actually talking to the Venezuelan government and finding a peaceful solution? Just saying...

 

[Motionless Malla]

I'm getting major vibes that this is all about maintaining control and projecting power, you know? Like, Trump's pushing these options for ops in Venezuela because it's an easy way to assert dominance without having to put in too much real effort . And let's be real, the fact that they're using "intelligence" as a justification for strikes just feels like a bunch of smoke and mirrors .

I'm not saying I'm a fan of cartels or anything, but this whole thing feels like it's more about keeping the US in the spotlight than actually solving any problems . And what's up with Tulsi Gabbard being MIA from these meetings? Did she just ghost them on purpose?

It's also worth noting that the whole "foreign terrorist organization" line feels like a total cop-out . Are they seriously trying to justify their actions by saying they're not going after innocent civilians? I mean, come on... can't we have a more nuanced conversation about this stuff?

 

[Smoggy She]

I'm worried about where this is heading... The US already has a carrier strike group and warplanes stationed in the region, and now they're talking about strikes on land? It feels like we're playing with fire over here. The fact that Tulsi Gabbard was out of the loop because she was on an overseas trip is even more concerning - who's calling the shots on this one? And what exactly are these military operations supposed to achieve? Are we really just going to bomb our way out of a problem, or are there other solutions being considered?

 

[Xerothermic Xenomorph]

omg u guys i cant even believe whats going down in venezuela!! its like trumps got his sights set on taking down narco cartels and saving america from their meds but at what cost??? the more i read about this the more im worried about innocent ppl getting caught in the crossfire u think its gonna get messy?? also why did they even bring in tulsigabbard like that lol wut happened to her btw didnt she do something with usnavy or something?? anyways gotta keep an eye on this one fam