Knock, Knock. Who's There? Well, It's Not Your Drug Buyers, Maduro... 31 Oct: ADDENDUM
UPDATE: Miami Herald was misinformed, per President Trump. Addendum at the end of this post.
Trump Set to Strike Venezuela Military Installations ‘at Any Moment’: Miami Herald
via Zachary Leeman, all rights belong to Mediaite | Oct 31st, 2025, 11:05 am
President Donald Trump has decided to strike multiple Venezuela military installations, according to a new report from the Miami Herald.
Sources familiar with the situation told the Herald that the strikes “could come at any moment.” [archive]
An attack would mark a major escalation in an already-tense situation, with the president already approving deadly strikes on boats from Venezuela that he and other officials claim are a direct threat to the U.S. as they are allegedly carrying drugs and bringing them into the country. [archive]
The strikes have faced bipartisan push-back with critics questioning their legality with no due process or proof of the allegations. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has been one of the more vocal critics, calling the policy “insane” and uncivilized. [archive]
The incoming strikes were also reported on by The Wall Street Journal [archive].
Trump has claimed that Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro is the head of the alleged smuggling operation the United States is targeting. Trump reportedly authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela earlier this month. [archive]
“We are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” the president said.
The Department of Justice is currently offering a $50 million reward to information leading to Maduro’s arrest and/or conviction. [archive]
The new strikes could happen in days, or even hours, according to the Miami Herald, which published its report on Friday morning.
One source speaking with the paper appeared to suggest a regime change could be coming for Venezuela.
“Maduro is about to find himself trapped and might soon discover that he cannot flee the country even if he decided to,” the person said. “What’s worse for him, there is now more than one general willing to capture and hand him over, fully aware that one thing is to talk about death, and another to see it coming.”
Satellites Show US Warships Positioned for Possible Strikes in Venezuela
By Amir Daftari, Newsweek (excerpt)
The United States has intensified its naval presence in the Caribbean, with satellite imagery confirming the deployment of the USS Iwo Jima and USS Gravely, now stationed within striking distance of Venezuela.
The buildup follows recent U.S. airstrikes on cartel-operated vessels allegedly linked to Caracas and signals Washington’s readiness to escalate operations against what it calls “state-enabled narcotrafficking networks”.
Newsweek has reached out to the State Department and Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry for comment.
ADDENDUM
Trump Says No Decision Has Been Made On Looming Venezuela Land Strikes
By Alison Durkee and Antonio Pequeño IV, Forbes Staff.
Oct 31, 2025, 12:52pm EDT
Topline
President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he has not made a decision on whether the U.S. will strike military targets in Venezuela, according to Bloomberg, contradicting a report from the Miami Herald that stated the Trump administration could conduct the strikes as soon as Friday.
Key Facts
Trump told reporters “no” when asked if he made a decision to attack Venezuelan military targets, which would escalate ongoing U.S. attacks on drug cartels and Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
Trump’s comment contradicted the [Miami] Herald’s report, which said the Trump administration has affirmatively decided to carry out land strikes inside Venezuela, citing anonymous sources who said the strikes could begin at “any moment,” within hours or days of the Herald’s report Friday morning.
The report comes after The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday evening [archive] that the White House was considering airstrikes on targets within Venezuela, though it had not yet decided at that time to carry them out.
The reported strikes are part of a broader effort the Trump administration has been waging against Maduro’s government in Venezuela, as the White House has alleged Maduro is leading a drug-trafficking operation in the country, an allegation that the Venezuelan leader has denied [archive].
It’s unclear precisely where any strikes could take place, though the Journal reported targets were likely to be places like ports, airports and naval facilities that are controlled by Venezuela’s military and allegedly used to traffic drugs.
Sources cited by the Herald “declined to say” if Maduro himself would be a target in the Trump administration’s planned strikes.
Our failure was not reading the Miami Herald post in full - in the bottom third of the post they shift gears from Trump Set to Strike Venezuela Military Installations ‘at Any Moment’ to the White House was saying any such reports are misinformed….
The White House moved Friday morning to tamp down reports that U.S. forces are close to taking action inside Venezuelan territory. “Unnamed sources don’t know what they’re talking about. Any announcements regarding Venezuela policy would come directly from the President,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said. Trump himself denied that he has made a decision on attacking military sites inside Venezuela when asked on Friday aboard Air Force One.
Hours later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also denied the Miami Herald report. “Your ‘sources’ claiming to have ‘knowledge of the situation’ tricked you into writing a fake story,” he wrote in his X account.
We keep a list of sources who misinform and or twist their posts such as the Miami Herald so we do not use them again.
Per Forbes, quoting President Trump, no plans have been made to enter Venezuela. We have questions for the Miami Herald...