Trump says he ‘sort of’ decided on Venezuela strikes as officials debate for a third day

President Donald Trump said Friday he has "sort of" made up his mind on how the U.S. will proceed in Venezuela, as senior administration and military officials met at the White House for a third consecutive day to discuss potential operations in the Latin American country.

"I sort of have made up my mind" about next steps in Venezuela, Trump told CBS News aboard Air Force One, adding, "I can't tell you what it would be."

According to sources familiar with the matter, top officials-including Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio-briefed the president again on Friday. The meeting followed two days of discussions in which military leaders presented Trump with options for possible operations in the coming days, including potential land-based strikes.

Venezuela was included in the president's daily intelligence briefing on Wednesday, when Hegseth, Caine and other Pentagon officials outlined early plans. Additional briefings continued Thursday, culminating in a larger session at the White House on Friday, the sources said.

Despite the escalating internal deliberations, two Western allies told CBS News the U.S. has not yet shared its precise intentions regarding Venezuela.

Washington has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of enabling armed criminal groups that traffic drugs into the United States-allegations Maduro denies. Over the past two months, the U.S. military has struck at least 21 vessels it says were transporting narcotics from South America, killing at least 80 people.

However, several Western European governments with interests in Latin America say they have not seen direct evidence linking Maduro to drug cartels, despite U.S. claims and a 2020 federal indictment portraying him as a top narcotrafficker.

This week, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot criticized recent U.S. strikes in the Caribbean, saying they violate international law and threaten French overseas territories in the region. "We have observed with concern the military operations in the Caribbean region," Barrot said at the G7 foreign ministers' summit in Ontario.

Meanwhile, the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group entered the U.S. Southern Command's area of responsibility earlier this week, joining destroyers, aircraft, and special operations forces already positioned in the Caribbean and South America. Southern Command oversees military operations across the region.