US weighs drone strikes inside Venezuela against drug networks

U.S. military planners are preparing options to carry out strikes inside Venezuela against drug trafficking networks in the coming weeks, officials familiar with the discussions said, a move that would mark a significant escalation in tensions between Washington and Caracas. The options under consideration reportedly focus on drone strikes targeting trafficking leaders, members and drug-processing sites, but senior officials said President Donald Trump has not yet approved any operation.

The push for more aggressive action follows a recent U.S. campaign at sea in which American forces struck vessels alleged to be carrying narcotics. Those strikes have killed multiple people; some reports have put the toll at at least 17. U.S. officials say those operations and a broader naval and air presence in the Caribbean have not sufficiently disrupted flows of illegal drugs and have therefore led planners to develop additional kinetic options.

Plans under discussion concentrate on using remotely piloted aircraft to strike laboratories and individuals associated with transnational trafficking groups. A senior administration official said the president is prepared to "use every element of...