President Donald Trump denied that he approved the decision to strike military targets in Venezuela, contradicting a media report that he authorised the attack.
“No,” Trump replied when a journalist aboard Air Force One asked him about reports that he was considering such strikes.
Earlier on Friday, the Miami Herald newspaper reported that the Trump administration has decided to attack military installations in Venezuela, strikes could come at any time.
Asked about the report, White House press secretary Anne Kelly said that “unnamed sources don’t know what they’re talking about” and any announcement would be made by Trump, Bloomberg writes.
The United States has increased its naval presence in the Caribbean, and satellite imagery confirms the deployment of the US Navy ships USS Iwo Jima and USS Gravely, which are now within range of Venezuela, Newsweek magazine reported this morning. The data was not officially confirmed.
In early September, Washington launched a campaign of strikes targeting vessels allegedly smuggling drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing at least 62 people and destroying 14 boats and a semi-submarine.
The Trump administration views the small boats as a threat to US national security because of the drugs they allegedly carry.
Regional tensions have been heightened by the strikes, with Venezuela saying the United States is planning to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, who has accused Washington of “fuelling the war”.