Trump administration tells Congress it lacks legal justification to strike Venezuela

Trump administration officials told lawmakers on Wednesday that the US is not currently planning to launch strikes inside Venezuela and doesn't have a legal justification that would support attacks against any land targets right now, according to sources familiar with the briefing conducted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and an official from the White House's Office of Legal Counsel, Report informs referring to CNN.

Lawmakers were told during the classified session that the opinion produced by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel to justify strikes against suspected drug boats, first reported by CNN last month, does not permit strikes inside Venezuela itself or any other territories, four sources said.

The "execute order" that launched the US military campaign against suspected drug boats that began in September also does not extend to land targets, the briefers said, according to the sources.

The massive buildup of military assets in the Caribbean, which will soon include the Ford Carrier Strike Group, has raised questions about whether the US intends to strike inside Venezuela. But the briefers said the military assets are only moving there to support counternarcotic operations and conduct intelligence gathering, two of the sources said.