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Marco Rubio breaks bad news to Miami Herald over its reporting on strikes inside Venezuela

November 1, 2025 | | Print Article

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoiled the Miami Herald’s big scoop about imminent U.S. military strikes in Venezuela, which, not surprisingly, is just more of the same fake news that the media now specializes in.

On Friday, the South Florida newspaper reported that the Trump administration has decided to launch attacks on military targets in the Latin American nation, and that the strikes “could come at any moment.”

But as is now customary practice with the media, the Herald cited the usual anonymous sources “with knowledge of the situation” to back up its reporting, which was shot down by the nation’s top diplomat who informed the paper’s editors that their Halloween bombshell was all trick and no treat.

“Maduro is about to find himself trapped and might soon discover that he cannot flee the country even if he decided to,” one source told the outlet, referring to Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. “What’s worse for him, there is now more than one general willing to capture and hand him over, fully aware that one thing is to talk about death, and another to see it coming.”

According to the outlet, the strikes would be a part of a campaign against the Cartel de los Soles, a criminal drug trafficking organization that is led by Maduro, who succeeded the infamous Hugo Chavez as leader of the oil-rich country after the flamethrowing socialist strongman died in 2013.

The Miami Herald’s misfire followed another report, this one from The Wall Street Journal, that the administration has identified military targets in Venezuela that were being used for the transport of illegal drugs, although it didn’t go so far as to report that the decision had been made to commence military action in the form of land strikes.

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The White House also called B.S. on the reporting that President Donald J. Trump has authorized attacks on Maduro’s narcoterrorist regime.

“Unnamed sources don’t know what they’re talking about,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital in a Friday statement. “Any announcements regarding Venezuela policy would come directly from the President.”

When asked by reporters onboard Air Force One whether he had plans to attack Venezuela, Trump denied the reports.

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“No… It’s not true,” the commander in chief said.

Any potential strikes on Venezuela would be fiercely opposed by Democrats along with some Republicans, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) joining his friends across the aisle to denounce ongoing military strikes on cartel drug boats, which he has suggested are unconstitutional.

“Blowing up boats without proof isn’t justice; it’s what China or Iran would do. There’s no evidence of fentanyl and no due process,” the Kentucky Republican said in a Thursday post to X.

Last week, the Pentagon announced that the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group has been sent to the Caribbean as the administration continues to blow up the drug trafficking boats before they reach American shores with their deadly cargo.

“In support of the President’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland, the Secretary of War has directed the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and embarked carrier air wing to the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR),” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement.

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“The enhanced U.S. force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere. These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs,” the statement read.

Chris Donaldson
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