Venezuela

Outburst comes after another US strike on alleged drugs vessel in Caribbean, as Maduro rallies to defend sovereignty.

United States President Donald Trump has threatened Venezuela with “incalculable” consequences if the country does not “immediately” take back immigrants he described as “prisoners” and “people from mental institutions”.

“GET THEM THE HELL OUT OF OUR COUNTRY, RIGHT NOW, OR THE PRICE YOU PAY WILL BE INCALCULABLE!” he said on his Truth Social platform on Saturday. He insisted that Venezuela had “forced” such people into the US and claimed without evidence that “thousands of people have been badly hurt, and even killed, by these ‘Monsters.’”

Trump’s latest outburst came amid soaring tensions, one day after he announced another strike against alleged drug vessels from Venezuela in the Caribbean that killed three men he described as “male narcoterrorists”.

Venezuela, for its part, has accused the US of waging an “undeclared war” in the Caribbean and called for a United Nations investigation into at least three strikes on boats that have killed a total of 17 people since the beginning of September.

Washington has deployed seven warships, a nuclear-powered submarine and F-35 stealth fighters to international waters off Venezuela’s coast, backed by F-35 fighters sent to Puerto Rico, in the biggest US naval deployment in the Caribbean.

Trump says the military is engaged in an anti-drug operation, but has not provided specific evidence to back up claims that the boats targeted so far had actually been trafficking drugs. Legal analysts have warned that the attacks amount to extrajudicial killings.

Reward offered for Maduro’s arrest

The deployment has stoked fears of an attack on Venezuelan territory, with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro repeatedly alleging the US is hoping to drive him from power.

Trump this week denied he was interested in regime change, but Washington last month doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50m, accusing him of links to drug trafficking and criminal groups.

Maduro denies links between high-ranking authorities and drug gangs and pledged to mobilise more than four million militia fighters in response to US “threats” after Washington raised the reward for his arrest.

Maduro sent letter to Trump

Days after the first US strike on a boat from the South American country at the beginning of the month, Maduro offered to engage in direct talks with Washington, according to the Reuters news agency, which viewed a personal letter sent to Trump.

“President, I hope that together we can defeat the falsehoods that have sullied our relationship, which must be historic and peaceful,” Maduro wrote in the letter, calling for “direct and frank” talks to “overcome media noise and fake news”.

In a separate development on Saturday, Maduro’s YouTube channel disappeared from the video-sharing platform on Saturday, according to the AFP news agency.

“Without any justification, the YouTube channel was closed at a time when the US was fully implementing hybrid warfare operations against Venezuela,” AFP cited Telesur as saying on its website.

WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that the U.S. military again targeted a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing three aboard the vessel.

“The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the U.S.,” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the strike. “These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests.”

The strike that Trump says was carried out Monday came two weeks after another military strike on what the Trump administration says was a drug-carrying speedboat from Venezuela that killed 11.

The Trump administration justified the earlier strike as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.

But several senators, Democrats and some Republicans, have indicated dissatisfaction with the administration’s rationale and questioned the legality of the action. They view it as a potential overreach of executive authority in part by using the military for law enforcement purposes.

The Trump administration has claimed self-defense as a legal justification for the first strike, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio arguing the drug cartels “pose an immediate threat” to the nation.

U.S. officials said the strike early this month targeted Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. And they indicated more military strikes on drug targets would be coming as the U.S. looks to “wage war” on cartels.

Trump did not specify whether Tren de Aragua was also the target of Monday’s strike.

The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported strike.

The Trump administration has railed specifically against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for the scourge of illegal drugs in U.S. communities.

Maduro during a press conference earlier on Monday lashed out at the U.S. government, accusing the Trump administration of using drug trafficking accusations as an excuse for a military operation whose intentions are “to intimidate and seek regime change” in the South American country.

Maduro also repudiated what he described as a weekend operation in which 18 Marines raided a Venezuelan fishing boat in the Caribbean.

“What were they looking for? Tuna? What were they looking for? A kilo of snapper? Who gave the order in Washington for a missile destroyer to send 18 armed Marines to raid a tuna fishing vessel?” he said. “They were looking for a military incident. If the tuna fishing boys had any kind of weapons and used weapons while in Venezuelan jurisdiction, it would have been the military incident that the warmongers, extremists who want a war in the Caribbean, are seeking.”

Speaking to Fox News earlier Monday, Rubio reiterated that the U.S. doesn’t see Maduro as the rightful leader of Venezuela but as head of a drug cartel.

“We’re not going to have a cartel, operating or masquerading as a government, operating in our own hemisphere,” Rubio said.

Following the first military strike on a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, America’s chief diplomat said Trump was “going to use the U.S. military and all the elements of American power to target cartels who are targeting America.”

AP and others have reported that the boat had turned around and was heading back to shore when it was struck. But Rubio on Monday said he didn’t know if that’s accurate.

“What needs to start happening is some of these boats need to get blown up,” Rubio said. “We can’t live in a world where all of a sudden they do a U-turn and so we can’t touch them anymore.”

Madhani and Garcia Cano write for the Associated Press. AP writer Matthew Lee in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

US military action against a Venezuelan boat sparks condemnation and troop deployments.

Venezuela has accused the United States of illegally boarding and occupying one of its fishing vessels in the country’s special economic zone, further escalating tensions between Caracas and Washington.

In a statement on Saturday, Venezuela’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the vessel, carrying nine “humble” and “harmless” fishermen, was intercepted by the US destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) on Friday.

“The warship deployed 18 armed agents who boarded and occupied the small, harmless boat for eight hours,” the statement said, calling the incident a “direct provocation through the illegal use of excessive military means”.

The move follows a US military strike last week in the Caribbean that killed 11 Venezuelans and sank a boat that the administration of US President Donald Trump claimed, without evidence, had been transporting narcotics.

Venezuela has rejected these claims, with Minister of the Popular Power for Interior Diosdado Cabello insisting none of those killed was a member of the Tren de Aragua gang, as alleged by Washington.

“They openly confessed to killing 11 people,” Cabello said on state television. “Our investigations show the victims were not drug traffickers. A murder has been committed against a group of citizens using lethal force.”

The White House defended the strike, with spokeswoman Anna Kelly calling the victims “evil Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists” and saying that Nicolas Maduro is “not the legitimate president of Venezuela” and is a “fugitive.”

Several countries deny Maduro’s legitimacy as a democratically elected leader due to what some have viewed as unfair elections, but the Trump administration has not provided evidence linking the Venezuelan president to Tren de Aragua. US intelligence agencies have said there is no sign of coordination between the government and traffickers.

Pentagon officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Venezuelan President Maduro announced the deployment of troops, police and civilian militias across 284 “battlefront” locations, reinforcing previous troop increases along the Colombian border.

Speaking from Ciudad Caribia, Maduro signalled Venezuela’s readiness to defend its water, saying: “We’re ready for an armed fight, if it’s necessary.”

The US has also expanded its military presence in the southern Caribbean, sending warships and deploying 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico.

Last month, Washington doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50m, citing alleged drug trafficking and criminal ties, a claim Venezuela denies, asserting it is not a drug-producing country.

When a door slammed shut in the childhood home of Andry Hernández Romero, he wasn’t just startled. He winced, recoiling from the noise.

Nearly a month had passed since Hernández Romero, a 32-year-old makeup artist, and 251 other Venezuelans were released from a notorious Salvadoran mega-prison.

In a Zoom interview in August from Venezuela, Hernández Romero listed the ways in which the trauma of the ordeal still manifests itself.

“When doors are slammed — did you notice [my reaction] when the door made noise just now?” he said. “I can’t stand keys. Being touched when I’m asleep. If I see an officer with cuffs in their hand, I get scared and nervous.”

Trump administration officials accused the Venezuelan men of being members of the transnational gang Tren de Aragua and a national security threat, though many, including Hernández Romero, had no criminal histories in the U.S. or Venezuela.

While he was confined, with no access to his attorneys or the news, Hernández Romero had no idea he had become a poster child for the movement to free the prisoners.

“Before I was Andry the makeup artist, Andry the stylist, Andry the designer,” he said. “I was somewhat recognized, but not as directly. Right now, if you type my name into Google, TikTok, YouTube — any platform — my entire life shows up.”

Days after he was sent to El Salvador on March 15, CBS News published a leaked deportation manifest with his name on it. His lawyer Lindsay Toczylowski, who co-founded the Los Angeles-based Immigrant Defenders Law Center, denounced his removal on “The Rachel Maddow Show” and a “60 Minutes” expose.

In the “60 Minutes” episode, Time photojournalist Philip Holsinger recounted hearing a man at the prison cry for his mother, saying, “I’m not a gang member. I’m gay. I’m a stylist,” while prison guards slapped him and shaved his head.

Outrage grew. On social media, users declared him disappeared, asking, “Is Andry Hernández Romero alive?”

Activists made signs and banners demanding the federal government “FREE ANDRY.” During Pride Month, the Human Rights Campaign held a rally about him in Washington, D.C. The New Queens Pride Parade in New York named him honorary grand marshal.

Congressional Democrats traveled to El Salvador to push for information about the detainees and came back empty-handed.

“Let’s get real for a moment,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said in an April 9 video on X. The video cut to a glamour shot of Hernández Romero peering from behind three smoldering makeup brushes.

“When was the last time you saw a gay makeup artist in a transnational gang?” Torres said.

Hernández Romero walks through a market in his hometown of Capacho Nuevo.

Hernández Romero shows the crown tattoos that U.S. authorities claimed linked him to the Tren de Aragua gang.

Hernández Romero fled Venezuela after facing persecution for his sexuality and political views, according to his lawyers.

He entered the U.S. legally at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on Aug. 29, 2024, after obtaining an appointment through CBP One, the asylum application process used in the Biden administration. The elation of getting through lasted just a few minutes, he said.

Hernández Romero spent six months at the Otay Mesa Detention Center. He had passed a “credible fear” interview — the first step in the asylum process — but immigration officials had lasered in on two of his nine tattoos: a crown on each wrist with “Mom” and “Dad” in English.

Immigrant detainees are given blue, orange or red uniforms, depending on their classification level. A guard once explained that detainees wearing orange, like him, could be criminals. Hernández Romero said he replied, “Is being a gay a crime? Or is doing makeup a crime?”

When his deportation flight landed in El Salvador, he saw tanks and officials dressed in all black, carrying big guns.

A Salvadoran man got off first — Kilmar Abrego García, whose case became a focus of controversy after federal officials acknowledged he had been wrongly deported.

Eight Venezuelan women got off next, but Salvadoran officials rejected them and they were led back onto the plane. Hernández Romero said the remaining Venezuelans felt relieved, thinking they too would be rejected.

Instead, they ended up in prison.

Hernández Romero does the makeup for Gabriela Mora, the fiancee of his fellow prisoner Carlos Uzcátegui, hours before their civil wedding in the town of Lobatera.

“I saw myself hit, I saw myself carried by two officials with my head toward the ground, receiving blows and kicks,” Hernández Romero said. “After that reality kind of strikes me: I was in a cell in El Salvador, in a maximum-security prison with nine other people and asking myself, ‘What am I doing here?’”

As a stylist, he said, having his hair shaved off was particularly devastating. Even worse were the accompanying blows and homophobic insults.

He remembers the photographer snapping shots of him and feeling the sting of his privacy being violated. Now, he understands their significance: “It’s thanks to those photos that we are now back in our homes.”

At the prison, guards taunted them, Hernández Romero said, telling them, “You all are going to die here.”

Hernández Romero befriended Carlos Uzcátegui, 32, who was held in the cell across the hall. Prisoners weren’t allowed to talk with people outside their cells, but the pair quietly got to know each other whenever the guards were distracted.

Uzcátegui said he was also detained for having a crown tattoo and for another depicting three stars, one for each of his younger sisters.

A prisoner is moved by a guard at the Terrorist Confinement Center, a high-security prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 26. (Alex Brandon, Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

As prisoners looks on, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center on March 26. (Alex Brandon, Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Hernández Romero said he noticed that some of the guards would stare at him when he showered. He told reporters that guards took him to a small, windowless room known as “La Isla,” or “The Island,” after noticing him bathing with a bucket outside of designated hours. There, he said, he was beaten by three guards wearing masks and forced to perform oral sex on one of them, according to NPR and other outlets.

Hernández Romero no longer wishes to talk about the details of the alleged abuse. His lawyers are looking into available legal options.

“Perhaps those people will escape earthly justice, the justice of man, but when it comes to the justice of our Father God, no one escapes,” he said. “Life is a restaurant — no one leaves without paying.”

Uzcátegui said guards once pulled out his toenails and denied him medication despite a high fever. He had already showered, but as his fever worsened he took a second shower, which wasn’t allowed.

He said guards pushed him down, kicked him repeatedly in the stomach, then left him in “La Isla” for three days.

In July, rumors began circulating in the prison that the Venezuelans might be released, but the detainees didn’t believe the talk until the pastor who gave their daily sermon appeared uncharacteristically emotional. He told them: “The miracle is done. Tomorrow is a new day for you all.”

Uzcátegui remained unconvinced. That night, he couldn’t sleep because of the noise of people moving around the prison. He said usually that meant that guards would enter their cell block early in the morning to beat them.

Hernández Romero noticed his friend was restless. “We’re leaving today,” he said.

“I don’t believe it,” Uzcátegui replied. “It’s always the same.”

Hernández Romero knew they had spent 125 days imprisoned because when any detainee went for a medical consult, they would unobtrusively note the calendar in the room and report back to the group. The detainees would then mark the day on their metal bed frames using soap.

On July 18, buses arrived at the prison at 3 a.m. to take the Venezuelans to the airport. Officials called out Hernández Romero and Arturo Suárez-Trejo, a singer whose case had also drawn public attention, for individual photos. Hernández Romero said they were puzzled but obliged.

Migrants deported by the United States to El Salvador under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown arrive at Simon Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, on July 18.

(Ariana Cubillos / Associated Press)

When their flight touched down, an official told them: “Welcome to Venezuela.” Walking down the plane steps, Hernández Romero felt the Caribbean breeze on his face and thanked God.

A few days later, he was back in his hometown, Capacho Nuevo, hugging his parents and brother in the center of a swarm of journalists and supporters chanting his name.

“I left home with a suitcase full of dreams, with dreams of helping my people, of helping my family, but unfortunately, that suitcase of dreams turned into a suitcase of nightmares,” he told reporters there.

Hernández Romero said he wants to see his name cleared. For him, justice would mean “that the people who kidnapped us and unfairly blamed us should pay.”

President Trump had invoked an 18th century wartime law to quickly remove many of the Venezuelans to El Salvador in March. In a 2-1 decision on Sept. 2, a panel of judges from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the administration acted unlawfully, saying there has been “no invasion or predatory incursion.”

Trump administration officials have told a federal judge that they would facilitate the return of Venezuelans to the U.S. if they wish to continue the asylum proceedings that were dismissed after they were sent to El Salvador. If there’s another chance to fulfill his dreams, Hernández Romero said he’s “not closed off to anything.”

Uzcátegui sees it differently. After everything he went through, he said, he probably would not go back.

Now he suffers from nightmares that it’s happening again. “Despite everything, you end up feeling like it’s not true that we’re out of there,” he said. “You wake up thinking you’re still there.”

Carlos Uzcátegui exchanges vows with Gabriela Mora during their wedding in August as Hernández Romero, right, in cap, looks on.

As he restarts his career, Hernández Romero is redeveloping a client list as a makeup artist. Last month, he worked a particularly special wedding: Uzcátegui’s. He did makeup for his friend’s bride, Gabriela Mora.

“He lived the same things I did in there,” Uzcátegui said. “It was like knowing that we are finally free — that despite all the things we talked about that we never thought would happen, that friendship remains. We’re like family.”

The Pentagon’s two top leaders traveled to Puerto Rico amid growing tensions with Venezuela and its leader, Nicolas Maduro. The U.S. territory is serving as a staging ground for the arrival of equipment and personnel as the Trump administration continues bringing assets to the fight against drug cartels. The Trump administration considers Maduro a narco-terrorist and cartel leader.

During his visit, Hegseth flew a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey to the USS Iwo Jima, the lead ship in the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG). The ship is part of the counter-narcotics effort and currently stationed about 30 miles south of Puerto Rico.

A source familiar with the Trump administration’s counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean confirmed to The War Zone that 10 F-35 Joint Strike fighters have been ordered to fly to Puerto Rico to take part in that mission. This confirms an earlier report by Reuters. The jets are expected to arrive in Puerto Rico next week. It is unclear which branch they belong to, where they are coming from or what they will do once they arrive.

Word of the deployment of fighters comes a day after Venezuelan F-16s made a pass near a U.S. Navy destroyer operating in the Caribbean, the latest in the escalating tensions between Venezuela and the United States.

“The interaction was highly provocative, and clearly a show of force,” a U.S. official told The War Zone Friday morning about the two Venezuelan F-16s that flew near the USS Jason Dunham.

The approach on the destroyer came two days after U.S. President Donald Trump said the military attacked a boat belonging to the “Venezuelan Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists,” who are closely aligned with Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. Trump released a video of the attack, which he said killed 11 narco-traffickers. Though the president signed a still-secret memo in July authorizing the use of military force against groups designed as narco-terror organizations, the incident has raised questions about the legality of carrying out such a strike without Congressional authority, among other issues.

The boat had been ordered to stop before it was destroyed, Fox News reported on X.

As part of his claimed effort to stem the flow of drugs from the region, Trump had previously ordered at least eight warships to the region, plus additional surveillance and strike assets.

A U.S. official provided us with an update Friday morning on the location of the Navy assets in the region in addition to the Dunham.

The 22nd MEU, part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), left Norfolk Aug. 14, bound for the southern Caribbean. That force included more than 4,500 sailors and Marines on three ships: The Wasp class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, and San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships the USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale. Those vessels remain off the southern coast of Puerto Rico, where Marines and sailors were conducting amphibious landing training. You can read more about that in our story here.

In addition to the ARG/MEU ships, the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Gravely remains underway in the southern Caribbean, the official told us.

Meanwhile, at least two Navy warships have reached or transited the Panama Canal. The Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser USS Lake Erie recently passed through the canal from the Pacific to the Caribbean. The Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Sampson remains docked on the Pacific side of the canal. Citing official policy about publicizing the location of its submarine force, the official declined to provide the whereabouts of the Los Angeles class fast attack submarine USS Newport News, which is also taking part in this effort.

Though aimed at groups considered narco-terrorist organizations, an official with direct knowledge of these operations told TWZ last week that they are also aimed at Maduro. He was indicted in a New York federal court in 2020, during the first Trump presidency. He and 14 others, including several close allies, were hit with federal charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy with the Colombian FARC insurgent group to import cocaine.  The U.S. government has issued a $50 million reward for Maduro’s capture.

The F-35s bring a wide array of capabilities wherever they are deployed. While best known for their kinetic capabilities, including striking targets and taking on enemy aircraft, the Joint Strike Fighter is an extremely powerful intelligence gathering tool, with its highly capable radar and electro-optical systems. Yet its electronic intelligence gathering ability is perhaps its most potent reconnaissance asset. You can read more about that here.

This is a developing story.

Update 1:20 PM Eastern –

During a trip to Fort Benning, Georgia on Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offered additional justification for the deadly strike against the cartel drug boat earlier this week. He likened the alleged smugglers killed to notorious terrorists.

“Coming from a drug cartel is no different than coming from Al-Qaeda,” Hegseth proclaimed to reporters. “And they will be treated as such, as they were, in international waters.” 

“We smoked a drug boat and there are 11 narcoterrorists at the bottom of the ocean,” he posited. “And when other people do that, they are going to meet the same fate. We knew exactly who they were, exactly what they were doing, what they represented, and why they were going where they were going.”

Update: 3:24 PM Eastern –

Video emerged on social media of the Iwo Jima off the coast of Puerto Rico.

WASHINGTON — The F-35 is the most advanced fighter jet on the planet, capable of waging electronic warfare, of dropping nuclear weapons, of evading the surveillance and missile defenses of America’s most fearsome enemies at supersonic speeds.

Ten of them are being deployed by a newly branded War Department to Puerto Rico to combat drug traffickers in dinghies.

It is the latest example of the Trump administration using disproportionate military force to supplement, or substitute for, traditional law enforcement operations — first at home on the streets of U.S. cities and now overseas, where the president has labeled multiple drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and has vowed a “tough” response.

On Tuesday, that response began with an inaugural “kinetic strike” targeting a small vessel in the Caribbean allegedly carrying narcotics and 11 members of Tren de Aragua, one of the Venezuelan gangs President Trump has designated a terrorist group. Legally designating a gang or cartel as a terrorist entity ostensibly gives the president greater legal cover to conduct lethal strikes on targets.

The operation follows Trump’s deployment of U.S. forces to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., for operations with dubious justifications, as well as threats of similar actions in San Francisco, Chicago and New Orleans, moves that a federal judge said last week amount to Trump “creating a national police force with the President as its chief.”

Trump has referred to both problems — urban crime and drug trafficking — as interlinked and out of control. But U.S. service members have no training in local law or drug enforcement. And experts question a strategy that has been tried before, both by the United States and regional governments, of launching a war against drugs only to drive leaders in the trade to militarize themselves.

U.S. drug policy “has always been semi-militarized,” said Jeremy Adelman, director of the Global History Lab at Princeton University. Trump’s latest actions simply make more explicit the erasure of a line “that separates law enforcement from warfare.”

“One side effect of all this is that other countries are watching,” Adelman said. “By turning law enforcement over to the military — as the White House is also doing domestically — what’s to stop other countries from doing the same in international waters?

“Fishermen in the South China Sea should be worried,” he added.

The Trump administration has not provided further details on the 11 people killed in the boat strike. But officials said the departure of a drug vessel from Venezuela makes Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s dictatorial president labeled by the White House as a top drug kingpin, indirectly responsible.

“Let there be no doubt, Nicolás Maduro is an indicted drug trafficker in the United States, and he’s a fugitive of American justice,” Marco Rubio, Trump’s secretary of State and national security advisor, said on a tour of the region Thursday, citing a grand jury indictment in the Southern District of New York.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference Wednesday in Mexico City.

(Hector Vivas / Getty Images)

The president’s war on drug cartels will continue, Rubio said, adding that regional governments “will help us find these people and blow them up.”

Maduro has warned the strike indicates that Washington seeks regime change in Caracas. The Venezuelan military flew two aircraft near a U.S. vessel in international waters Thursday night, prompting an angry response from Pentagon officials and Trump to direct his Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to “do what you want to do” in response.

“Despite how dangerous this performance could be, because of its political consequences, it can’t be taken seriously as a drug policy,” said Lina Britto, an expert on Latin America and the Caribbean at Northwestern University with a focus on the history of the drug trade. “It lacks rigorousness in the analysis of how drug trafficking operates in the hemisphere.”

Most drugs entering the U.S. homeland from South America arrive in shipping containers, submarines and more efficient modes of transportation than speedboats — and primarily come through the Pacific, not the Caribbean, Britto said.

Trump has flirted with military strikes on drug cartels since the start of his second term, working with Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, to coordinate drone strikes over Mexican territory for surveillance of cartel activity.

But Sheinbaum has ruled out the use of force against cartels, or the deployment of U.S. forces within Mexico to combat them, warning that U.S. military action would violate Mexican sovereignty and upend collaboration between the two close-knit trade and security partners.

In comparison, Venezuela offers Trump a cleaner opportunity to test the use of force against drug cartels, with diplomatic ties between the two governments at a nadir. But a war with Maduro over drugs could create unexpected problems for the Trump administration, setting off a rare military conflict in a placid region and fueling further instability in a country that, over the last decade, already set off the world’s largest refugee crisis.

Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program and head of the Future of Venezuela Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that Trump’s use of foreign terrorist designations changes the rules of engagement in ways that allow for action “where law enforcement solutions failed in the past.”

“What we are witnessing is a paradigm shift in real time,” Berg said. “Many of Latin America’s most significant criminal organizations are now designated foreign terrorist organizations. The administration is demonstrating that this is not only rhetorical.”

But Paul Gootenberg, a professor at Stony Brook University and author of “Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global Drug,” characterized Trump’s military operation as a “simplistic” approach to complex social problems.

“This is more a performative attack on the Venezuelan regime than a serious attempt at drug policy,” Gootenberg said.

“Militarized drug policy is nothing new — it was tried and intensified in various ways from the mid-1980s through 2000s, oftentimes under U.S. Southern Command,” he added. “The whole range and levels of ‘war on drugs’ was a long, unmitigated policy failure, according to the vast, vast majority of drug experts.”

Times staff writer Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary legal protections that have granted more than 1 million people from Haiti and Venezuela the right to live and work in the United States.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco for the plaintiffs means 600,000 Venezuelans whose temporary protections expired in April or whose protections were about to expire Sept. 10 have status to stay and work in the United States. It also keeps protections for about 500,000 Haitians.

Chen scolded Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for revoking protections for Venezuelans and Haitians that the judge said would send them “back to conditions that are so dangerous that even the State Department advises against travel to their home countries.”

He said Noem’s actions were arbitrary and capricious, and she exceeded her authority in ending protections that were extended three times by the Biden administration.

Presidential administrations have executed the law for 35 years based on the best available information and in consultation with other agencies, “a process that involves careful study and analysis. Until now,” Chen wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Temporary Protected Status is a designation that can be granted by the Homeland Security secretary to people in the United States, if conditions in their homelands are deemed unsafe for return due to a natural disaster, political instability or other dangerous conditions.

Millions of Venezuelans have fled political unrest, mass unemployment and hunger. The country is mired in a prolonged crisis brought on by years of hyperinflation, political corruption, economic mismanagement and an ineffectual government.

Haiti was first designated for TPS in 2010 after a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of people, and left more than 1 million homeless. Haitians face widespread hunger and gang violence.

Their designations were to expire in September but later extended until February, due to a separate court order out of New York.

Noem said that conditions in both Haiti and Venezuela had improved and that it was not in the national interest to allow migrants from the countries to stay on for what is a temporary program. Attorneys for the government have said the secretary’s clear and broad authority to make determinations related to the TPS program are not subject to judicial review.

Designations are granted for terms of six, twelve or 18 months, and extensions can be granted so long as conditions remain dire. The status prevents holders from being deported and allows them to work.

The secretary’s action in revoking TPS was not only unprecedented in the manner and speed in which it was taken but also violated the law, Chen wrote.

The case has had numerous legal twists, including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. In March, Chen temporarily paused the administration’s plans to end TPS for people from Venezuela. An estimated 350,000 Venezuelans were set to lose protections the following month.

The U.S. Supreme Court in May reversed his order while the lawsuit played out. The justices provided no rationale, which is common in emergency appeals, and did not rule on the merits of the case.

Venezuelans with expired protections were fired from jobs, separated from children, detained by officers and even deported, lawyers for TPS holders said.

The Supreme Court’s reversal does not apply to Friday’s ruling. The government is expected to seek a stay of Chen’s order as it appeals.

Last week, a three-judge appeals panel also sided with plaintiffs, saying the Republican administration did not have the authority to vacate protection extensions granted by the previous administration.

Har writes for the Associated Press.

A sold out stadium of 85 thousand in Buenos Aires witness two farewell Lionel Messi goals in World Cup qualifier.

Lionel Messi made sure he had good memories of playing a home qualifier with Argentina’s national team for the last time in his illustrious career.

The former Barcelona forward scored twice on Thursday in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Venezuela in front of a raucous sellout crowd that had gathered at Estadio Monumental to bid him farewell.

“Being able to finish this way here is what I’ve always dreamed of,” Messi said.

“I’ve experienced a lot of things on this pitch, both good and not so good, but it’s always a joy to play in Argentina, in front of our fans.”

Messi is yet to give any clues about when he will retire from the top level of the sport, but the qualifiers for the 2030 World Cup will begin in 2027, when he is 40.

The Argentina captain scored in the 39th and 80th minutes, and Lautaro Martinez added a goal in the 76th.

Messi now has 36 goals in South American World Cup qualifiers and remains the all-time scoring leader.

His Inter Miami teammate, Luis Suarez, has 29 goals in continental qualifying, but he has retired from Uruguay’s national team. Bolivia’s Marcelo Moreno Martins is third with 22.

Looking ahead, Messi clarified he will only compete in next year’s World Cup if he feels physically fit.

“I’m excited, eager. It’s day by day, feeling the sensations. If I feel good, I enjoy it; if not, I’d rather not be there,” he said, adding that the nine months until the tournament kicks off “is a long time”.

Already qualified, the World Cup champions extended their tally to 38 points and will remain atop the South American qualifying standings regardless of what happens in the last round next Tuesday.

Venezuela, trying to qualify for its first World Cup, remains on 18 points and in seventh place. They’re still in contention to advance to an intercontinental playoff.

As the U.S. deploys an armada of ships and aircraft to the southern Caribbean, at least partly aimed at Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, the U.S. Navy and Marines are conducting an amphibious landing training exercise in southern Puerto Rico. While the U.S. Marine Corps does not make any mention of Maduro or Venezuela in its media release about the exercise, the move comes as tensions are mounting between Washington and Caracas over the flow of illegal narcotics. The Trump administration considers Maduro a “narco-terrorist” and has raised the award for his arrest to $50 million. You can catch up with our most recent reporting on the Caribbean deployments here.

Meanwhile, the U.S. carried out a lethal strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug vessel that departed from Venezuela and was operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X this afternoon, following comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump. Striking this vessel points to a new kinetic angle to this effort, a major escalation. You can read more about the attack in our story here.

The amphibious training exercise, which began two days ago, involves Marines and sailors from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). The 22nd MEU, part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), left Norfolk Aug. 14, bound for the southern Caribbean. That force included more than 4,500 sailors and Marines on three ships: The Wasp class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, and San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships the USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale.

The Marines and sailors involved in the training exercise are part of the ARG/MEU dispatched for the drug interdiction effort, a Navy official told The War Zone Tuesday afternoon. The three ships are currently near Puerto Rico, the official added. Given the training efforts, at least some of these vessels are almost assuredly taking part, though neither the Navy nor Marines could immediately confirm that. The Navy referred us to the Marines for clarification, and we will update this story with any pertinent details provided.

The deployment of the ARG/MEU is part of a much larger movement that also includes three Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers, a Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser, a Los Angeles class fast attack nuclear submarine as well as land-based surveillance aircraft. The movement of equipment and personnel is part of Trump’s continuing efforts to take on cartels.

The Puerto Rico training exercise “is designed to enhance the 22nd MEU’s readiness and capabilities, while also fostering stronger relationships with the Puerto Rican National Guard,” the 22nd MEU said in its release. “Amphibious operations are a cornerstone of naval integration and a core competency of the 22nd MEU. They enable the rapid deployment of Marines from naval vessels to shore, supporting U.S. strategic objectives.”

Whether coincidental or not, there are many physical and environmental similarities between Puerto Rico and Venezuela, located about 500 miles south of the U.S. territory.

“The challenging terrain and tropical climate of Puerto Rico provides an ideal environment for the 22nd MEU to conduct realistic amphibious training and hone specialized skills such as patrolling, reconnaissance, and survival techniques, ensuring a high level of readiness while forward deployed,” the unit explained. “These operations offer a valuable opportunity to train alongside the National Guard, leveraging existing military training facilities on the island. The 22nd MEU is actively seeking ways to expand collaborative training opportunities, including jungle training, combined exercises and community engagement events. These combined efforts are aimed at enhancing regional security, disaster response capabilities, and joint capacity building.”

In addition to the ARG/MEU ships, Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers USS Gravely and USS Jason Dunham are underway in the southern Caribbean, the Navy official told us.

Meanwhile, at least two Navy warships have reached or transited the Panama Canal. The Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser USS Lake Erie recently passed through the canal from the Pacific to the Caribbean. The Panama Canal opens up into that body of water about 600 miles southwest of Venezuela.

Overnight, guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) transited the Panama Canal northbound and entered the Caribbean Sea. Following the transit, Lake Erie stopped broadcasting its position, steaming at 17 knots on a 36° course, heading in the direction of Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/aNmeJhmN4y

— Ian Ellis (@ianellisjones) August 30, 2025

In addition, the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Sampson is docked on the Pacific side of the canal, the Navy official added. Citing Navy policy against publicly disclosing the location of its submarine force, the official would not comment on the whereabouts of the Los Angeles class fast attack submarine USS Newport News, also part of this effort.

While there is no indication that the U.S. plans to land forces in Venezuela, has the deployed capacity to do so effectively, or that any U.S. vessels are close by, Maduro and his military say they are ready to repel any attack.

“In the face of this maximum military pressure, we have declared maximum preparedness for the defense of Venezuela,” Maduro said Monday of the deployment, which he characterized as “an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat.”

Maduro called the U.S. buildup “the greatest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years” in the form of “eight military ships with 1,200 missiles” targeting Venezuela.

Maduro asegura que 1.200 misiles y un submarino nuclear apuntan contra Venezuela

La Casa Blanca ha confirmado un despliegue militar en el Caribe como parte de su estrategia antidrogas, y aseguró que cuenta con el respaldo de varios países latinoamericanos. Maduro afirma que su… pic.twitter.com/KDAO2dUmLX

— DW Español (@dw_espanol) September 2, 2025

While the exact nature of this movement remains unclear, and no overt threats of kinetic action against Maduro directly have been made by the Trump administration, the Venezuelan dictator seems to be gearing up for a fight. Late last month, he announced the planned deployment of more than 4.5 million militia members around the country. They are volunteers designated to bolster the armed forces’ defense against external and domestic attacks. In addition, Venezuela announced it was deploying 15,000 troops toward the border with Colombia to conduct counter-drug operations.

Rubio said recently that “for the first time in the modern era,” the U.S. government was “truly on the offense” against organized cartels sending drugs to the United States, The New York Times noted. He and other officials in the Trump administration have called Mr. Maduro an illegitimate leader and his government a “narco-terror cartel.”

Maduro was indicted in a New York federal court in 2020, during the first Trump presidency. He and 14 others, including several close allies, were hit with federal charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy with the Colombian FARC insurgent group to import cocaine.  The U.S., as we previously mentioned, has issued a $50 million reward for his capture.

El primer póster oficial del gobierno de los Estados Unidos por la captura del terrorista latinoamericano más buscado de todos los tiempos: el venezolano Nicolas Maduro Moros. pic.twitter.com/Pq0ElEOGuF

— Agustín Antonetti (@agusantonetti) August 8, 2025

Last week, someone with direct knowledge of the operations told us that the U.S. is building up military assets in the region aimed as a direct message at Maduro in addition to taking part in counter-drug operations. With the aforementioned attack on a Venezuelan cartel drug boat, this has now become a lethal drug interdiction effort.

Contact the author: [email protected]

The United States has deployed military forces to the Caribbean with the ostensible goal of combatting drug trafficking.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said that a United States military deployment in the Caribbean is aimed at overthrowing his government, viewed as a longtime foe by the US.

In a series of rare remarks before reporters on Monday, Maduro said that Venezuela seeks peace but that the military is prepared to respond to any attacks from US forces.

“They are seeking a regime change through military threat,” Maduro told journalists. “Venezuela is confronting the biggest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years.”

Maduro has raised alarm over a US naval buildup in the region, ostensibly for the purpose of combating drug trafficking, that has caused speculation about possible military interference against Venezuela. The Venezuelan leader has deployed troops along the South American nation’s borders and called on citizens to join militias.

The US Navy currently has two Aegis guided-missile destroyers – the USS Gravely and the USS Jason Dunham – in the Caribbean, along with the destroyer USS Sampson and the cruiser USS Lake Erie in the waters off Latin America.

The news agency Associated Press has reported that those forces could expand further in the coming days, with the inclusion of amphibious assault ships with 4,000 sailors and US Marines. The US, for its part, has not announced plans to deploy any personnel to Venezuelan soil.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has accused Maduro of close connections to an array of drug trafficking and criminal organisations throughout the region, claims for which it has thus far failed to offer any evidence.

The US doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest over allegations of involvement in drug trafficking to $50m in August.

In May, US media reported that an internal intelligence memo concluded that there was no evidence linking Maduro to the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua, undercutting a claim pushed publicly by Trump and his allies. That allegation had also been an important component of the administration’s push to rapidly deport Venezuelans accused of membership without due process.

Despite his frequent use of rhetoric railing against the history of US intervention in Latin America, the Venezuelan leader had previously expressed an interest in cooperating with the Trump administration in areas such as immigration enforcement, agreeing to accept Venezuelans deported from the US.

During his press conference on Monday, Maduro also insisted that he was the rightful ruler of the country after winning a third term in a strongly contested 2024 election. The opposition has maintained that they were the true winners of that election, and neither the US nor most regional governments have recognised Maduro’s victory.

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court on Friday blocked President Trump’s plans to end protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela who have had permission to live and work in the United States, saying that plaintiffs are likely to win their claim that the Republican administration’s actions were unlawful.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a lower court ruling that maintained temporary protected status designations for Venezuelans while they challenge actions by the Trump administration in court.

The 9th Circuit judges found that plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had no authority to vacate or set aside a prior extension of temporary protected status because the governing statute written by Congress does not permit it.

Then-President Biden’s Democratic administration had extended temporary protected status, commonly known as TPS, for people from Venezuela.

“In enacting the TPS statute, Congress designed a system of temporary status that was predictable, dependable, and insulated from electoral politics,” Judge Kim Wardlaw, who was nominated by President Clinton, a Democrat, wrote for the panel. The other two judges on the panel were also nominated by Democratic presidents.

In an email, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security blasted the decision as more obstruction from “unelected activist” judges.

“For decades the TPS program has been abused, exploited, and politicized as a de facto amnesty program,” the email read. “While this injunction delays justice and undermines the integrity of our immigration system, Secretary Noem will use every legal option at the Department’s disposal to end this chaos and prioritize the safety of Americans.”

Congress authorized temporary protected status, or TPS, as part of the Immigration Act of 1990. It allows the secretary of DHS to grant legal immigration status to people fleeing countries experiencing civil strife, environmental disaster or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions” that prevent a safe return to that home country. The terms are for six, 12 and 18 months.

The appellate judges said the guaranteed time limitations were critical so people could gain employment, find long-term housing and build stability without fear of shifting political winds.

But in ending the protections soon after Trump took office, Noem said conditions in Venezuela had improved and it was not in the U.S. national interest to allow migrants from there to stay on for what is a temporary program. It’s part of a broader move by Trump’s administration to reduce the number of immigrants who are in the country either without legal documentation or through legal temporary programs.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco found in March that plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their claim that the administration had overstepped its authority in terminating the protections. Chen postponed the terminations, but the Supreme Court reversed him without explanation, which is common in emergency appeals.

It is unclear what effect Friday’s ruling will have on the estimated 350,000 Venezuelans in the group of 600,000 whose protections expired in April. Their lawyers say some have already been fired from jobs, detained in immigration jails, separated from their U.S. citizen children and even deported.

Protections for the remaining 250,000 Venezuelans are set to expire Sept. 10.

“What is really significant now is that the second court unanimously recognized that the trial court got it right,” said Emi MacLean, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Northern California representing plaintiffs.

She added that while the decision might not benefit immediately those people who have already lost their status or are about to lose their status, Friday’s ruling “should provide a path for the administration’s illegal actions related to Venezuela and TPS to finally be undone.”

A court declaration provided by plaintiffs showed the turmoil caused by the Trump administration and Supreme Court decision.

A Washington woman who worked in restaurants was deported in June along with her daughters, 10 years and 15 months old, after ICE officers told her to bring her children to an immigration check-in. The father of the baby, who is a U.S. citizen, remains in the U.S. while the woman tries to figure out what to do.

Also in June, a FedEx employee appeared in uniform at his required immigration check-in only to be detained, the court declaration states. He slept for about two weeks on a floor, terrified he would be sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison. His wife cannot maintain the household on her earnings.

“I am not a criminal,” he said in the declaration, adding that “immigrants like myself come to the United States to work hard and contribute, and instead our families and lives are being torn apart.”

Millions of Venezuelans have fled political unrest, mass unemployment and hunger. Their country is mired in a prolonged crisis brought on by years of hyperinflation, political corruption, economic mismanagement and an ineffectual government.

Attorneys for the U.S. government argued the Homeland Security secretary’s clear and broad authority to make determinations related to the TPS program were not subject to judicial review. They also denied that Noem’s actions were motivated by racial animus.

But the appellate judges said courts clearly had jurisdiction in cases where the actions were unlawful. They declined to address whether Noem was motivated by racial animus.

Har writes for the Associated Press.

American warships edging closer to Venezuelan waters earlier this year barely made global headlines, overshadowed by louder crises in Ukraine and the South China Sea. Yet this quiet buildup is not accidental. It is part of Washington’s long pattern of targeting regimes that stand at the crossroads of energy and geopolitics. Venezuela, sitting atop the world’s largest proven oil reserves, remains an indispensable square on the global chessboard, despite years of economic decay. The question worth asking is: Why does the United States persist in exerting pressure on Venezuela, Iran, and Russia and even spar with rising oil consumers like India? The answer lies in a combination of old-fashioned energy security, the logic of sanctions, and a twenty-first-century version of tariff wars.

Energy, Empire, and the Logic of Control

From the early Cold War to the Gulf Wars, American power has been tethered to oil. Securing access to hydrocarbons was never about mere consumption; it was about leverage. Whoever controlled the flow of oil controlled the arteries of the global economy. Venezuela, like Iran and Russia, belongs to the category of states with energy abundance but frail political legitimacy in Washington’s eyes. These states could, in theory, undermine the U.S.-led order by weaponizing supply.

The Trump administration revived this logic with unusual bluntness. Sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA, Iran’s National Iranian Oil Company, and Russia’s energy giants were not simply punitive. They were instruments of economic siege, aimed at reducing rivals’ fiscal lifelines while simultaneously making American shale oil more competitive on the global market. The “tariff war” with China, and by extension India, fit the same pattern: weaken alternative energy partnerships and redirect trade flows toward U.S.-friendly networks.

Venezuela: A Pawn or a Prize?

Venezuela is not merely an oil state; it is a symbolic battleground. For Washington, Nicolás Maduro’s survival is a reminder that authoritarian regimes can withstand Western pressure when shielded by Moscow and Beijing. For Russia and China, supporting Caracas is inexpensive but symbolically priceless: it frustrates U.S. hegemony in its own hemisphere.

This symbolism has recently translated into direct diplomatic gestures. When Washington deployed warships off Venezuela’s coast, Beijing condemned the action as a violation of sovereignty and publicly reaffirmed its support for President Maduro. India, in contrast, has been more circumspect: while historically engaged with Venezuelan crude, New Delhi stepped back from oil imports earlier this year under U.S. tariff threats, signaling its preference for strategic neutrality. These divergent responses underscore how Venezuela has become a stage where multipolar fault lines are performed in real time.

The irony is that Venezuela’s oil industry today is a ghost of its former self. Decades of mismanagement and sanctions have collapsed production to levels unthinkable in the 1990s. And yet, the reserves beneath Venezuelan soil still represent untapped potential insurance against a future where Middle Eastern supply chains might be disrupted. U.S. naval maneuvers around Venezuela send a dual message: to Caracas, that Washington retains coercive power; to global markets, that American dominance in the Western Hemisphere is not up for negotiation.

Tariffs, Sanctions, and the Shifting Global Economy

Sanctions and tariffs are often portrayed as separate instruments, but in practice they converge. By sanctioning Venezuela, Iran, and Russia, Washington narrows the playing field for global oil suppliers. By imposing tariffs on India and China, it simultaneously curbs the bargaining power of large consumers. The effect is to reinforce the role of the United States as both an energy producer (through shale) and a gatekeeper of energy commerce (through financial sanctions and naval dominance).

This strategy, however, comes with risks. Sanctions have accelerated experiments in de-dollarization, as Russia and China expand oil trade in rubles and yuan. India, caught between cheap Russian crude and American pressure, finds itself hedging. Venezuela, despite its pariah status, has quietly courted Asian markets with barter-style deals. In short, the very pressure that once guaranteed U.S. leverage is now incubating alternatives.

History’s Echoes

To understand today’s maneuvers, one must recall history. Washington’s approach to oil-rich adversaries is not new; it is a recycled script. The 1953 coup in Iran, the sanctions on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the 1990s, and even the naval blockades against Cuba: each reflects a doctrine that energy and ideology cannot be separated.

Yet, history also reminds us that such strategies rarely yield clean victories. Sanctions tend to harden regimes rather than topple them. Tariffs often spark retaliation rather than capitulation. Recent analyses have underscored this dynamic: for instance, an Investopedia study notes that overuse of dollar-based sanctions has accelerated global de-dollarization, with the dollar’s share of global reserves dropping below 47%—as nations increasingly shift into gold, yuan, and local currencies. Venezuela under Maduro looks less like a state on the verge of collapse than a state perpetually enduring collapse, too weak to recover, too stubborn to die.

Theoretical Lens: Realism with a Neoliberal Mask

International relations theory offers a useful lens. Realists would argue that Washington is simply acting in line with its structural interests: preventing rival powers from weaponizing energy. But a neoliberal reading highlights how this coercion is cloaked in the rhetoric of democracy, human rights, and market freedom. Sanctions are framed as moral instruments, when in reality they are economic tools of statecraft. Tariffs are justified as corrections for “unfair trade,” though their deeper function is to secure strategic dominance.

The United States, in effect, performs a balancing act: dressing realist power politics in neoliberal language. Venezuela becomes not just a state to be disciplined but a case study in how the American order sustains itself through economic pressure rather than outright invasion.

Conclusion: A Risky Bet

The naval encirclement of Venezuela may not escalate into open conflict, but it signals a broader pattern: Washington is unwilling to let go of energy geopolitics as the anchor of its global primacy. By targeting Venezuela, Iran, and Russia, and by sparring with India and China over tariffs, the U.S. reasserts its role as the central broker of oil and trade.

The gamble, however, is whether this strategy is sustainable in a world edging toward multipolarity. Sanctions fatigue is growing; tariff wars strain alliances; and new financial infrastructures are slowly eroding the dollar’s monopoly. History teaches us that great powers can overextend. The United States risks learning that lesson the hard way, with Venezuela serving less as a pawn to be cornered and more as a mirror reflecting the limits of American power.

Background

Relations between Washington and Caracas have long been tense, marked by U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan officials, accusations of narco-trafficking, and disputes over democracy and sovereignty. The latest flashpoint comes as the Trump administration expands military deployments in the Southern Caribbean, framing the move as part of a broader campaign against Latin American drug cartels. Venezuela, meanwhile, views the buildup as a pretext for regime change and a direct threat to its sovereignty.

What Happened?

U.S. Officials confirmed that seven warships and a nuclear-powered submarine are expected to arrive in the Caribbean shortly, in addition to 4,500 service members that include 2,200 Marines.

The Pentagon has not specified the mission’s scope, but the Trump administration has empowered the military to target drug cartels, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and the Cartel de los Soles, which Washington accuses President Nicolás Maduro of leading.

On Thursday, August 28, 2025, Maduro addressed Venezuelan troops, vowing there was “no way” U.S. forces could invade, declaring Venezuela “stronger and more prepared” to defend sovereignty.

Venezuela has responded by deploying warships, drones, and 15,000 troops to the Colombian border, while also recruiting militia members to bolster defenses.

At the United Nations, Venezuela’s ambassador Samuel Moncada protested the U.S. buildup to Secretary-General António Guterres, calling it a “massive propaganda operation” to justify possible military intervention.

Why It Matters

The confrontation highlights the risk of military escalation in the Caribbean, a region already fraught with instability and migration pressures. For Washington, the naval buildup ties into Trump’s political focus on drug cartels and border security. For Venezuela, the moves reinforce long-standing accusations that the U.S. seeks regime change under the guise of counter-narcotics. Any clash could destabilize the broader region, disrupt energy markets, and draw in neighboring states such as Colombia, which has increased troop deployments along its shared border with Venezuela.