Trump Officials Reportedly Discussed 'Phase Two' Of Operations Against Accused Cartels Led By Army Delta Force Units

Trump administration officials have discussed a follow-up operation to maritime strikes against alleged drug vessels in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean, according to a new report.

The operations, dubbed as "phase two," would involve land operations against alleged cartels, something President Donald Trump has been repeatedly anticipating, The New York Times noted.

Phase One, the outlet added, are the strikes against alleged drug vessels in the region, which have so far killed over 100 people. The officials playing a leading role in the policy are White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

In the meantime, the administration has been also seizing sanctioned oil tankers off Venezuela, seeking to exert pressure on the regime. So far it has seized two and is pursuing a third one, the Bella 1, that has escaped into the Atlantic.

To do so, it's beefing up its military presence in the region. The Wall Street Journal noted that among the units being summoned is a Maritime Special Response Team, an elite force trained to board hostile ships.

It isn't publicly known why the ship has taken the stance, with the WSJ noting that most commercial vessels have little incentive to disobey the orders of U.S. armed forces.

"They are probably getting orders from somewhere," retired Rear Adm. William Baumgartner told the outlet. "These are owned by very bad people trying to make money in a particular manner."

The strategy also seeks to "use economic pressure by enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking," an official told Reuters.

"The efforts so far have put tremendous pressure on (authoritarian President Nicolas) Maduro, and the belief is that by late January, Venezuela will be facing an economic calamity unless it agrees to make significant concessions to the U.S.," the official added.

In fact, analysts consulted by The Atlantic said the decision could exert significant pressure on Maduro by targeting the regime's main source of revenue, potentially forcing significant concessions while stopping short of guaranteeing regime change.

Juan Gonzalez, a former National Security Council adviser on Latin America under President Joe Biden, said the move strikes at "the single biggest source of revenue that has propped up Maduro's government since 2013."

"If the goal is to force concessions, he said, "this is a really smart move."