WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is rapidly escalating its pressure campaign against Venezuela, with America’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, which arrived in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday, even as President Donald Trump’s aides provide conflicting accounts of what, exactly, they are seeking to achieve.

Trump held back-to-back days of meetings at the White House, reviewing military options, including the use of Special Operations forces and direct action inside Venezuela.

It is still not clear whether Trump has made a decision about what kind of action to authorize, if any. On Friday, he told reporters on Air Force One that “I sort of made up my mind.” “I can’t tell you what it is,” he said, “but we made a lot of progress with Venezuela in terms of stopping drugs fr

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