'Kill Everyone'

Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela reach a fevered pitch as President Trump calls advisors to the Oval Office to discuss next steps.

Good morning,

Tensions spike between the U.S. and Venezuela as President Trump prepares to host military advisors and members of the national security council this evening to discuss ‘next steps’. These next steps come after a period of heightened tensions:

• The United States has conducted at least 21 air strikes on alleged Venezuelan narco-trafficking boats

• President Trump cautioned that everyone should treat Venezuelan airspace as ‘closed’

• Secretary of Defense Hegseth formally unveiled Operation Southern Spear, two weeks ago, to combat drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere

• Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro is attempting to rally OPEC countries to counter-press the United States

• President Trump announced that Operation Southern Spear would target ground-based Venezuelan-linked drug targets ‘very soon’

Now, if that were not enough, several other factors are complicating our understanding of the situation.

First, Presidents Trump and Maduro talked by phone this weekend. Allegedly, du…