Mike Baker

What's not clear, however, is whether the Operation Southern Spear label pertains to ongoing U.S.

operations near Venezuela targeting narco smugglers, which to date have killed at least 80 people, or whether it signals the start of a new, expanded mission.

That's according to a report from Axios.

but deliberations are intensifying in the halls of the White House.

Behind the scenes, CBS News reports that President Trump was briefed this week on new military options for Venezuela.

Those options include airstrikes on cartel-linked military sites, covert operations against regime assets, and most notably, limited ground raids targeting trafficking infrastructure near Venezuela's northern coast.

The sources emphasize, however, that Trump has not yet made a decision on how to proceed.

I'm guessing that those same sources did not emphasize that they probably aren't supposed to be talking about possible covert activity.

As we've been tracking on the PDB, the Pentagon has positioned carrier groups and bombers and drones and Marines and reconnaissance aircraft and special operators throughout the Caribbean.

The unprecedented buildup has boosted the number of troops in Latin America to some 15,000, leaving, of course, all options on the table.

While announcing Operation Southern Spear, Hegseth declared that the Western Hemisphere is, quote, America's neighborhood and that the U.S.

intends to act like it.

It's an unmistakable message to both Caracas and its foreign backers in Moscow and Beijing and Tehran.

Adding to the tension, intelligence assessments shared with the White House confirm Maduro has been reaching out to Russia and Iran for military assistance during an imminent U.S.

strike.

Russian lawmakers and state media have openly warned that the U.S., quote, may be in for surprises.

And as we covered last week,

Moscow claims to have begun delivering air defense systems to Venezuela with hypersonic missiles still a possibility.

U.S.

officials are not commenting publicly on those claims, but it appears Maduro is hoping that foreign support will be enough to deter Washington's next move.