Rubio denies reports of imminent US strikes on Venezuela amid buildup
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied reports that Washington was preparing military strikes on Venezuela, even as the United States expands its Caribbean military presence under the pretext of anti-narcotics operations.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the media after visiting the Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern occupied Palestine, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025 (Fadel Senna/Pool Photo via AP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed on Friday reports suggesting that Washington was preparing to launch military strikes on Venezuela, calling the claims entirely false.
"Your 'sources' claiming to have 'knowledge of the situation' tricked you into writing a fake story," Rubio wrote on X.
His response came after the Miami Herald published a report earlier in the day alleging that the United States was poised to strike Venezuelan military installations, citing unnamed officials said to be familiar with the matter. According to the newspaper, the purported air campaign could have begun "in a matter of days or even hours."
Your “sources” claiming to have “knowledge of the situation” tricked you into writing a fake story https://t.co/YCIVkZaTiz
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) October 31, 2025
The denial comes amid a sharp escalation of US military activity across the Caribbean, officially framed by Washington as part of an "anti-narcotics campaign" targeting so-called transnational criminal organizations.
Last week, the Pentagon announced the deployment of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the US Southern Command's area of responsibility, saying it was intended to "detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors."
The war-on-drugs narrative however serves as a pretext for renewed US militarization and to force a change of power in Venezuela and Colombia.
Manufactured Escalation
The growing US military footprint in the region has reignited fears of a direct confrontation. Senator Lindsey Graham said on Sunday that President Donald Trump is considering expanding operations to include ground actions against Venezuela and Colombia, describing such a move as "a real possibility."
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that the Roosevelt Roads naval base in Puerto Rico, once decommissioned after widespread protests, has been reactivated as a forward-operating hub for US warplanes, surveillance aircraft, and troop deployments.
Caracas has condemned Washington's operations as acts of aggression disguised as counter-narcotics efforts, warning that any direct attack would be met with "a proportional response."
President Nicolás Maduro accused the United States of fabricating narratives about narcotics trafficking to justify war and destabilize Latin America.
Read more: Trump’s Maduro obsession resurfaces with new CIA ops., troop buildup
