Gerald R. Ford

Nov. 26 (UPI) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro donned military fatigues, wielded Simon Bolivar’s sword and urged Venezuelans to defend the nation against U.S. aggression during a rally in Caracas.

Maduro held the rally in Caracas on Tuesday to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the nation’s liberation and told attendees that it is their duty to oppose foreign aggressors in the manner of Venezuelan hero Bolivar, who led a successful revolt against the Spanish, The Guardian reported.

The rally was held in response to the Trump administration’s military strikes against alleged drug traffickers and the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela.

“We have to be capable of defending every inch of this blessed land from any sort of imperialist threat or aggression, wherever it comes from,” Maduro said while holding Bolivar’s unsheathed sword in his right hand.

“I swear before our Lord Jesus Christ that I will give my all for the victory of Venezuela,” Maduro said.

The U.S. military has killed more than 80 while carrying out more than 20 aerial strikes on small vessels said to carry illicit drugs destined for the United States and Europe over the past four months, according to Time.

President Donald Trump also has accused Maduro of being a drug trafficker and a leader of the Cartel de los Soles, which the Trump administration on Monday designated as a foreign terrorist group, along with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which infiltrated the United States during the Biden administration.

The United States has placed a $50 million bounty for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, and Trump has authorized the CIA to operate in Venezuela.

He also has threatened to drop leaflets over Venezuelan cities to encourage a revolt against Maduro, who has been accused of claiming victory in the nation’s 2024 presidential election despite exit polling strongly suggesting he lost.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday accused the United States of “bullying” Venezuela and expressed support for the nation and Maduro.

Iranian leaders have accused the Trump administration of trying to destabilize the governments of Iran and Venezuela and maintain close ties with Maduro and Venezuela.

The tensions between the United States and Venezuela prompted a cautionary notice regarding international flights in the region from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Many international airlines have canceled flights to Venezuela, which has some travelers stranded in Caracas.

Nov. 16 (UPI) — The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group entered the Caribbean Sea on Sunday, adding to a military build-up in the region, as President Donald Trump signaled that he may have decided on a possible U.S. show of force in Venezuela.

The Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, leads a strike group assigned to dismantle international narcotics trafficking organizations.

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is getting closer to deciding on a course of action in Venezuela after a series of high-level meetings with officials amid mounting tensions in the region.

“I sort of have made up my mind – yeah,” Trump told reporters about Air Force One when asked about the meetings and the situation in Venezuela. “I can’t tell you what it would be, but I sort of have.”

Trump was briefed last week on options for military action in Venezuela, one of which could potentially include outing President Nicolas Maduro, several officials told CNN.

The U.S. military has dispatched more than a dozen warships and 15,000 troops in the area, part of what the Pentagon is calling “Operation Southern Spear.”

Last week, Trump was briefed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Kaine and a larger group of national security officials about U.S. options in Venezuela.

They discussed a wide range of options, including air strikes on military and government facilities, drug-trafficking routes and a potential attempt to remove Maduro directly.

Trump has previously considered targeting cocaine production facilities and trafficking routes inside the country, CNN reported. The president last month authorized the CIA to operate in Venezuela, but administration officials later told lawmakers that there is no justification that would support military action against any land targets in the country. Trump recently said on CBS News’ 60 Minutes that he is not considering that option.

Nov. 2 (UPI) — The United States killed three people in its latest strike against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced.

Hegseth said in a post to social media Saturday that American forces conducted a kinetic strike against the vessel in international waters.

He said three “narco-terrorists” were on board and all three were killed.

“These narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home — and they will not succeed,” he said. “The department will treat them exactly how we treated Al-Qaeda. We will continue to track them, map them, hunt them and kill them.”

At least 64 people have now been killed by the U.S. in 15 strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean since they began in September.

The strikes have been celebrated by families who have lost their children to fentanyl poisoning, some of whom recently rallied in the nation’s capital for a day of remembrance.

“One boat, two boat, three boat — boom!” a mother who lost her 15-year-old son to Percocet laced with fentanyl told Fox News is how she feels about the strikes on boats allegedly transporting drugs to the United States. “Who did it? Trump did it!”

President Donald Trump in September told reporters that he had authorized the CIA to operate in Venezuela during the summer as the Pentagon was directing a slow military buildup in the waters off the South American country.

On Oct. 24, weeks into the anti-drug trafficking campaign, Hegseth directed the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to transit to the Caribbean. The group includes three destroyers, in addition to the aircraft carrier.

There already were eight naval surface vessels, a submarine and roughly 6,000 soldiers deployed to the area before the strike group was ordered there from the Mediterranean.

Trump, who notified Congress that he was engaged in conflict with drug cartels, has said in recent weeks as the naval presence has grown that he is considering whether to allow strikes inside Venezuela to combat the cartels and weaken Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro‘s administration.

But the strikes have raised concerns of escalating an conflict that could to war with Venezuela and Colombia, according to reports.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., filed a bipartisan bill that aims to prevent 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.

On Friday, the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said they violate international law and amount to extrajudicial killings.

“Under international human rights law, the intentional use of lethal force is only permissible as a last resort against individuals who pose an imminent threat to life,” High Commissioner Volker Türk said.

“Based on the very sparse information provided publicly by the US authorities, none of the individuals on the targeted boats appeared to pose an imminent threat to the lives of others or otherwise justified the use of lethal armed force against them under international law,”