Trump says he’s “sort of” made up his mind on Venezuela after top officials spent 3rd day mulling options

Caine and others also briefed the president on Thursday. Friday’s session included a larger group, the sources said.

At this point, the U.S. has not briefed allied countries on its precise intentions regarding Venezuela, two Western allies told CBS News.

The U.S. has asserted that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is complicit with armed criminal gangs that smuggle drugs into the U.S., allegations that Maduro has rejected. And over the last two months, the U.S. military has conducted strikes against at least 21 vessels it alleges were ferrying drugs from South America to the U.S., killing at least 80 people.

But some Western European countries with interests in Latin America have said they do not have specific information directly linking Maduro to any cartel, despite U.S. assertions and a 2020 federal indictment claiming Maduro is a top narco trafficker.

Earlier this week, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that the U.S. strikes violate international law and law of the sea.

“We have observed with concern the military operations in the Caribbean region, because they violate international law and because France has a presence in this region through its overseas territories, where more than a million of our compatriots reside,” Barrot said in Ontario, at the G7 summit of foreign ministers.

Earlier this week, the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group entered the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility. Southern Command is the primary combatant unit for operations in the Caribbean and South America.

The Ford joins a flotilla of destroyers, war planes and special operations assets that are already in the region.