Washington — President Donald Trump convened a high-level Oval Office meeting to assess next steps on Venezuela as mounting questions surround recent U.S. strikes on suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean, according to CNN sources.
Those reportedly present included senior national security officials: War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. The session followed an intensification of U.S. pressure on Venezuela, including strikes on suspected narcotics boats and a large military deployment dubbed “Operation Southern Spear.” The Pentagon has deployed more than a dozen warships and roughly 15,000 troops to the region.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump regularly meets with his security team on global matters to help preserve peace.
Scrutiny of the operations increased after reports said strikes on alleged drug vessels killed more than 80 people and that a second strike may have targeted survivors in the water. Lawmakers from both parties pressed for answers. Independent Senator Angus King of Maine told CNN that, if a follow-up strike was ordered to kill survivors, “that’s a stone-cold war crime. It’s also murder.”
Leavitt identified Adm. Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, as the officer who ordered the follow-up strike, saying he acted “well within his authority.” She said Hegseth had authorised Bradley on September 2 to carry out kinetic action to eliminate a perceived threat to the United States. Leavitt maintained the strike was conducted in self-defence, took place in international waters, and complied with the law of armed conflict.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he personally “wouldn’t have wanted” a second strike and questioned whether such an order was actually issued. He added that Hegseth told him he did not want the strike and was unaware of the details. Leavitt said Hegseth had briefed concerned lawmakers and that Congress had received 13 bipartisan briefings on the Venezuelan operations, along with access to classified legal opinions and other documents.
CNN sources told the network that U.S. forces carried out a follow-up strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean on September 2 after an initial attack did not kill everyone aboard. That September action was reportedly the first in what became a series of similar strikes on alleged drug boats.
(This report is sourced from a syndicated feed and published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)
