Trump: May Talk With Maduro            11/17 06:28

   

   WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Sunday the U.S. 
"may be having some discussions" with Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro, a 
potential diplomatic avenue as the U.S. further builds up its military presence 
near the South American country with the arrival of its most advanced aircraft 
carrier.

   Trump didn't offer details about the possible discussions with Maduro, but 
he said "Venezuela would like to talk."

   The U.S. military has been carrying out a series of strikes against vessels 
suspected of transporting drugs. The arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford and 
other warships, announced by the Navy in a statement, marks a major moment in 
what the administration insists is a counterdrug operation but has been seen as 
an escalating pressure tactic against Maduro.

   When asked Sunday what he meant when he said Maduro wants to talk, Trump 
simply said: "What does it mean? You tell me, I don't know."

   "I'll talk to anybody," he added a few moments later. "We'll see what 
happens."

   Venezuela's government didn't immediately reply to a request for comment. 
Maduro, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S., has said the U.S. 
government is "fabricating" a war against him.

   The Ford rounds off the largest buildup of U.S. firepower in the region in 
generations. With its arrival, the "Operation Southern Spear" mission includes 
nearly a dozen Navy ships and about 12,000 sailors and Marines.

   The carrier's arrival coincided with the military announcing its latest 
deadly strike on a small boat it claims was ferrying illegal drugs. The 
military's Southern Command posted a video on X on Sunday showing the boat 
being blown up, an attack it said took place Saturday in international waters 
of the eastern Pacific Ocean and killed three men. The military did not 
immediately respond to a request for more information.

   Since early September, such strikes by the U.S. in the Caribbean and eastern 
Pacific have killed at least 83 people in 21 attacks.

   The carrier strike group, which includes squadrons of fighter jets and 
guided-missile destroyers, transited the Anegada Passage near the British 
Virgin Islands on Sunday morning, the Navy said.

   Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, who commands the strike group, said it will 
bolster an already large force of American warships to "protect our nation's 
security and prosperity against narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere."

   Adm. Alvin Holsey, the commander who oversees the Caribbean and Latin 
America, said in a statement that the American forces "stand ready to combat 
the transnational threats that seek to destabilize our region."

   Holsey, who will retire next month after just a year on the job, said the 
strike group's deployment is "a critical step in reinforcing our resolve to 
protect the security of the Western Hemisphere and the safety of the American 
Homeland."

   US military holds training exercises in Trinidad and Tobago and Panama

   In Trinidad and Tobago, which is only 7 miles from Venezuela at its closest 
point, government officials said troops have begun "training exercises" with 
the U.S. military that will run through much of the week.

   Minister of Foreign Affairs Sean Sobers described the joint exercises as the 
second in less than a month and said they are aimed at tackling violent crime 
on the island nation, which has become a stopover point for drug shipments 
headed to Europe and North America. The prime minister has been a vocal 
supporter of the U.S. military strikes.

   The exercises will include Marines from the 22nd Expeditionary Unit who have 
been stationed aboard the Navy ships that have been looming off Venezuela's 
coast for months.

   Venezuela's government has described the training exercises as an act of 
aggression. It had no immediate comment Sunday on the arrival of the aircraft 
carrier.

   Meanwhile, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said Sunday that U.S. troops have 
been training in Panama, underscoring the administration's increasing focus on 
Latin America.

   "We're reactivating our jungle school in Panama. We would be ready to act on 
whatever" Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth needed, he told CBS' "Face 
the Nation."

   The administration has insisted that the buildup of American forces in the 
region is focused on stopping the flow of drugs into the U.S., but it has 
released no evidence to support its assertions that those killed in the boats 
were "narcoterrorists." Trump has indicated military action would expand beyond 
strikes by sea, saying the U.S. would "stop the drugs coming in by land."

   On Friday, Trump was asked by reporters if he had made up his mind on what 
he intended to do about Venezuela. He did not offer details but said, "I sort 
of have made up my mind."

   The U.S. has long used aircraft carriers to pressure and deter aggression by 
other nations because their warplanes can strike targets deep inside another 
country. Some experts say the Ford is ill-suited to fighting cartels, but it 
could be an effective instrument of intimidation for Maduro in a push to get 
him to step down.

   Venezuela's government recently touted a "massive" mobilization of troops 
and civilians to defend against possible U.S. attacks. Maduro and other 
officials in Venezuela's socialist party also have been attending rallies this 
weekend to back the creation of neighborhood committees that will be in charge 
of increasing membership in Venezuela's socialist party, and promoting the 
party's policies.

   US to designate a Venezuelan cartel a foreign terrorist organization

   Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the United States does not recognize 
Maduro, who was widely accused of stealing last year's election, as Venezuela's 
legitimate leader. Rubio has called Venezuela's government a "transshipment 
organization" that openly cooperates with those trafficking drugs.

   Rubio said in a statement released Sunday evening that the State Department 
intends to designate Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, a foreign 
terrorist organization. Rubio said the cartel is headed by Maduro and other 
high-ranking members of his government and is among those "responsible for 
terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere as well as for trafficking drugs 
into the United States and Europe." When the designation takes effect on Nov. 
24, it will be a crime to provide "material support" to the cartel or its 
members.

   Trump has justified the attacks on drug boats by saying the U.S. is in 
"armed conflict" with drug cartels while claiming the boats are operated by 
foreign terrorist organizations.

   He has faced pushback from leaders in the region, the U.N. human rights 
chief and U.S. lawmakers, including Republicans, who have pressed for more 
information on who is being targeted and the legal justification for the boat 
strikes.

   Senate Republicans, however, recently voted to reject legislation that would 
have put a check on Trump's ability to launch an attack against Venezuela 
without congressional authorization.

   Experts disagree on whether or not American warplanes may be used to strike 
land targets inside Venezuela. Either way, the 100,000-ton warship is sending a 
message.

   "This is the anchor of what it means to have U.S. military power once again 
in Latin America," said Elizabeth Dickinson, the International Crisis Group's 
senior analyst for the Andes region. "And it has raised a lot of anxieties in 
Venezuela but also throughout the region. I think everyone is watching this 
with sort of bated breath to see just how willing the U.S. is to really use 
military force."