US-Venezuela tensions heighten as military forces increase on both sides
Written by: Marina Yan
Edited by: Laura Torres
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela are currently rising after the US president Donald Trump marked the biggest US military deployment in the region of the 21st century. Over the past 2 months, the US military has been steadily massing a large number of troops, naval, and air assets in the Caribbean. Additionally, Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, a US military base in Puerto Rico, closed since 2004, has recently reopened.
Meanwhile, the US launched several strikes against Venezuelan boats in the Caribbean Sea, clips can be found on the POTUS page. Furthermore, the Truth Social Intelligence states Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War “confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics," though he lacked evidence of this. As of October 18, there have been 6 attacks and at least 27 deaths. Experts question whether these killings are legal under international law. According to Professor Michael Becker of Trinity College Dublin "The fact that US officials describe the individuals killed by the US strike as narco-terrorists does not transform them into lawful military targets," (BBC)
Developments are happening fast, with the Trump administration now secretly authorizing the CIA to conduct covert action in Venezuela. “We are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” the president told reporters shortly after a New York Times report leaked this. Similarly, in 2017 Trump threatened force on the South American country, claiming he was"not going to rule out a military option" to address the worsening socioeconomic and political crisis in Venezuela. But why, what does Trump have against Venezuela? President Trump claims Venezuela fills “the prisons in the United States” and supplies “drugs.” However, according to Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, an organization studying organized crime, the Pacific is more important than the Caribbean or Atlantic seaboards for drug smuggling into the United States. Furthermore, the size of these operations indicates something greater than what occurs in Venezuela.
Another theory, though linked to the proposed war on drugs, is that it is an operation for regime change in the South American country. Trump’s thesis is that Venezuela is run by a drug cartel, and Nicolas Maduro, the President, is at the top of it. “Tren de Aragua is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro,” he posted on Truth Social. Explained by McDermott, “what Nicolas Maduro has done, is he has created a form of hybrid criminal governance… His regime has made alliances with criminal actors, including drug traffickers.” Moreover, he was indicted in a New York Grand Jury back in 2020 on drug trafficking charges, and has a bounty over his head. This theory of the American strategy is what Maduro himself believes; “the objective is to enter and take control of Venezuela, and to carry out a regime change,” Maduro said on September 16. Since then, he has been organizing troops, ready to declare a state of emergency if the US invades. America does have a high incentive to take control of the country, as Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves and valuable deposits of gold, diamonds and coltan. Nevertheless, his attacks also seem too small to elicit regime change.
These operations come after a series of other expansionist and imperialist moves from the Trump administration. They link back to a 17th century foreign policy position, the Monroe doctrine. Named after the 5th US President, James Monroe warned European powers not to interfere or recolonize the Americas, effectively proclaiming an American sphere of influence. Regarding the military sphere, the United States is clearly still the dominant, but in the economic sphere—that may now be China. So the POTUS seems to be pursuing this hegemonic position, Monroe 2.0, once again.
“Trump doesn’t talk about elections, the opposition, or democracy,” said a former Trump administration official. “That leaves it open to him to define a win in Venezuela any way he wants. What he likes is being a showman. He wants lots of explosions.” Future political and democratic US-Venezuela relations remain uncertain as of now, could this be solved peacefully or will military action be the only answer?
Works Cited
Duggal, Hanna, and Alia Chughtai. “How Many Times Has the US Struck Venezuelan Vessels?” Al Jazeera, 17 October 2025, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/17/how-many-times-has-the-us-struck-venezuelan-vessels. Accessed 21 October 2025.
DW News. Target Venezuela: Drug war or US Power Grab? | Mapped Out. 18 October 2025. Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdBwca6-sSw. Accessed 21 October 2025.
Murphy, Matt, and Joshua Cheetham. “Us Strikes on Latin American ‘Drug Boats’: What Do We Know, and Are They Legal?” BBC, 20 October 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdjzw3gplv7o. Accessed 21 October 2025.
Pager, Tyler, and Julian E. Barnes. “Trump Administration Authorizes Covert C.I.A. Action in Venezuela.” The New York Times, 15 October 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/us/politics/trump-covert-cia-action-venezuela.html. Accessed 21 October 2025.
Stott, Michael, et al. “Donald Trump Aims to Topple Venezuela’s Leader with Military Build-up.” Financial Times, 18 October 2025, https://www.ft.com/content/bd217091-84bb-4af2-b08b-9d9556dbb6d6. Accessed 21 October 2025.
