"Top United States officials were set to meet at the White House to discuss Venezuela, as the administration of US President Donald Trump continued to defend a controversial double strike on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean. The planned meeting on Monday, as reported by Reuters news agency, came as the US military continued to surge assets to the Caribbean. That has sparked concerns over a possible land invasion aimed at toppling the government of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro even as Trump has sent mixed messages in recent days."
"Last week, the US president said that land operations against criminal groups in Venezuela could begin very soon, in what would be an escalation of the US military's months-long strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug smugglers in international waters in the Caribbean. Days earlier, the US designated the Cartel de los Soles, which officials describe as a drug trafficking cartel led by Maduro, as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). Experts have pushed back on the characterisation, saying the Cartel de los Soles has traditionally referred to a loose network of corruption within the Venezuelan government."
"In a Saturday post on his Truth Social account, Trump said airspace over Venezuela should be considered closed in its entirety, in what some observers saw as the final preparations for military action. But on Sunday, Trump told reporters not to read anything into the move. Reporting from Washington, DC on Monday, Al Jazeera's chief US correspondent Alan Fischer said no one quite knows why Trump announced the airspace closure. He added that reports in US media indicate the announcement happened without Pentagon notification."
US military assets have surged into the Caribbean near Venezuela while senior US officials prepared a White House meeting on policy toward Caracas. The White House defended a controversial double strike that killed alleged drug smugglers. The buildup and statements from US leaders have raised fears of a potential land invasion aimed at toppling President Nicolás Maduro. The US designated the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, while experts say the term refers to a loose network of corruption. The president ordered Venezuelan airspace closed on social media, later downplaying the move; reports say the closure lacked Pentagon notification.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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