From military bases to cocaine refining laboratories, from secret landing pads to guerrilla camps. These are just some of the targets the American Government could target in the event of an attack Venezuelathreatened by US President Donald Trump. Former US and Venezuelan military and anti-drug officials and regional defense analysts explained this to the Washington Post. However, at the same time, it raises doubts about whether a US ground attack can actually materialize. This is because, explained retired Admiral Jim Stavridis, although its forces have “atrophied” in recent years, the Venezuelan army still has enough weapons and capabilities to resist a ground attack. Therefore, the US will carry out precision kinetic attacks targets related to drug trafficking and counter military capabilities and, if this does not have the desired impact, it will be detrimental to the leaders,” said Stavridis, who oversaw operations in the region from 2006 to 2009.
“I think thatThe goal is to convince Maduro that his days are numberedbut to do this we need some attacks on Venezuela’s infrastructure”, he added, while stating that the Venezuelan president could at this point ‘take cover’. At this point the US will be able to decide whether to carry out an attack on Maduro’s security or carry out a mission to capture or kill the Venezuelan leader, a “rather risky hypothesis, with potentially high risks”, underlines Stavridis.
The US attack strategy, continued Stavridis, could initially include attacks on airports or ports identified as drug shipping centers. Potential targets also include shipping points on the border between Venezuela and Colombia, where large amounts of cocaine originate, as well as Venezuelan air defenses, which the Pentagon wants to attack to protect its planes. A former US DEA agent in Venezuela, on condition of anonymity, stated that US forces could also target secret airstrips, such as the one in Apure state. Smugglers often hide cocaine near “parking lots” where planes from Central America land and wait to load the drugs, he explained.
Another landing pad targeted was in the Catatumbo region, which has seen increased air traffic due to a US crackdown on drug vessels, according to a former Venezuelan military captain who is now in exile and spoke to the Washington Post on condition of anonymity for security reasons. Large drug caches are also located in Sucre state, the former military official said. Destroying the drug supply could neutralize the economic power of corrupt military and political officials, the former soldier continued, adding that if the goal was to directly target Maduro’s security forces, the US military could also target Venezuela’s military counter-intelligence agency.
