Venezuelan oil reserves - not drug trafficking - are suspected to be the reason.

The United States has carried out military strikes on targets inside Venezuela, including military facilities, on the orders of President Donald Trump, U.S. officials confirmed to media, marking a significant escalation in Washington’s campaign against the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

The strikes come after months of increased U.S. military activity in the region. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and several other U.S. warships have been deployed to the Caribbean as part of the buildup.

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In recent weeks, U.S. forces have seized two oil tankers off the Venezuelan coast, conducted deadly attacks on more than 30 boats that the administration claims were involved in drug trafficking, and struck what Trump described as “the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs.”

The Trump administration has accused Maduro of drug trafficking and of cooperating with gangs designated by the U.S.

as terrorist organizations — allegations the Venezuelan government denies and the White House did not bother to prove.

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On Christmas Eve, Trump declined to specify his objectives in Venezuela but warned that if Maduro “plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’ll ever be able to play tough.”

Maduro said earlier this week that he is open to talks with the United States on issues including drug trafficking, oil, and migration, stating that negotiations could take place “wherever they want, whenever they want.”

Critics of Mr. Trump, however, argue that Venezuela’s vast oil reserves — rather than concerns over drug trafficking — are the primary motive behind the U.S. administration’s efforts to remove Maduro from power.

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