MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Trump denies imminent attack on Venezuela

Both Trump and Rubio said Washington had no such plans

US President Donald Trump on Friday denied that his administration was planning military attacks against Venezuela, contradicting reports from major US media outlets in this regard citing anonymous sources.

Questioned aboard Air Force One about those reports, Trump simply replied, “No.” He later dubbed these allegations as “false” and maintained that his administration “has no offensive actions against Caracas on its agenda.”

The Miami Herald cited anonymous Pentagon sources claiming the administration had “made the decision to attack several military targets in Venezuela at any moment.”

The Wall Street Journal also reported on plans that would target strategic facilities and bases of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB).

Adding to the administration's denial, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, known for his hardline stance against Caracas, dismissed the Miami Herald article on social media, saying the paper's sources were “misled.”

However, Trump insisted that Washington's deployments in the Caribbean involving Navy ships, a nuclear submarine, F-35 fighter jets, and bomber flyovers, were part of an operation to combat drug trafficking.

From Caracas, President Nicolás Maduro maintained that Venezuela was the victim of a “multifaceted war orchestrated by the United States” aimed at achieving “regime change and a puppet government.”

Last week, the FANB conducted military exercises in coastal areas as part of its “prolonged popular war doctrine” designed to resist any invasion attempt.

Additionally, neighboring Trinidad and Tobago's high command put its army on “ALERT LEVEL ONE” and ordered all troops back to bases, citing the need for “full operational readiness in the face of uncertainty in the regional security environment.”

The escalation comes weeks after President Trump admitted to authorizing covert CIA operations inside Venezuelan territory, which Caracas has denounced as part of a comprehensive plan of political and economic destabilization.