Trump met with advisers on Venezuela as US ramps up pressure

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WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump held talks on Monday with top advisers to discuss the pressure campaign on Venezuela, among other topics, a senior U.S. official said.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Oval Office meeting included senior members of Trump’s national security team. No details of the talks were immediately available.

The session came as Trump ratchets up pressure on Venezuela over what the U.S. says are drug shipments emanating from that country.

On Saturday, Trump said the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered “closed in its entirety,” but gave no further details, stirring anxiety and confusion in Caracas.

Trump confirmed on Sunday that he had spoken to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the U.S. considers an illegitimate leader, but Trump declined to provide details of the conversation.

The Trump administration has been weighing Venezuela-related options to combat what it has portrayed as Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans. Maduro has denied having any links to the illegal drug trade.

U.S. forces in the region have focused on counter-narcotics operations, even though the assembled firepower far outweighs what is necessary for them. U.S. troops have carried out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific since September, killing at least 83 people.

Reports of looming action have proliferated in recent weeks as the U.S. military has deployed forces to the Caribbean amid worsening relations with Venezuela. 

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Phil Stewart; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Rod Nickel and Stephen Coates)