The administration of President Donald Trump has considered dropping leaflets on Venezuela as President Nicolas Maduro turns 63 on Sunday. File Photo by Miguel Guiterrez/EPA-EFE
Nov. 23 (UPI) — The administration of President Donald Trump has considered dropping leaflets on Venezuela as President Nicolas Maduro turns 63 on Sunday, reports said.
Trump administration officials “recently” discussed dropping the leaflets but the operation has not yet been authorized, as first reported by the Washington Post citing anonymous sources and confirmed by CBS News.
The leaflets would possibly include information on a $50 million reward for assistance leading to Maduro’s arrest and conviction following a 2020 indictment charging him with narco-terrorism and drug trafficking, among other criminal offenses, sources who spoke to the news outlets said.
Dropping such leaflets is a common psychological warfare technique used globally, including by the U.S. military ahead of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as well as in Syria and Afghanistan.
The possibility of a leaflet drop comes as Trump has increased military pressure with strikes on alleged drug boats and a buildup of military in the region. Such strikes have been regularly publicized on social media by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Trump also recently confirmed that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
Trump, who notified Congress that he was engaged in conflict with drug cartels, has said he is considering whether to allow strikes inside Venezuela to combat the cartels and weaken Maduro’s administration.
But the strikes have raised concerns of escalating a conflict that could lead to war with Venezuela and Colombia, according to reports.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., filed a bipartisan bill last month that aimed at preventing the Trump administration from entering a full-throated war with Venezuela. Critics of the Trump administration’s actions have expressed that only Congress can declare war.
The strikes on alleged drug boats have been condemned by the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, which has said that they violate international law and amount to extrajudicial killings.
