President Donald Trump's administration is reportedly considering airstrikes on Venezuelan military facilities, including naval facilities and airstrips that officials believe are used to smuggle drugs, according to a report.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday night that while no official decision has been made, such strikes would send a "clear message" that Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro must step down.
The report warned the strikes would also represent a "significant escalation" of Trump's campaign on narcotics coming out of the country bound for the United States.
“President Trump has been clear in his message to Maduro: stop sending drugs and criminals to our country,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the outlet. “The President is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our homeland.”
However, Geoff Ramsey, a Venezuela analyst at the Atlantic Council, warned the land strikes could backfire on Trump — and help Maduro.
"This is the U.S. really putting to the test the claim that Maduro is weak and the military will flip with just a gentle push,” said Ramsey. "So far we haven’t seen any evidence of major defections in the country, but I think if the U.S. carries out the military strikes on the Venezuelan armed forces, that equation might change. However…there’s a chance that this leads to a rally-around-the-flag effect."
The Trump administration has killed more than 50 people who it has claimed, presenting little or no evidence, are narco-terrorists aboard boats smuggling drugs from Venezuela and Colombia.