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As American warships circle the Caribbean and fighter jets thunder overhead, the Trump administration's escalating military campaign against Venezuela reveals motives far beyond the stated war on narcotics and cartels.
America is preparing to attack Venezuela? (Images: Reuters)
UPDATED: Dec 9, 2025 21:32 IST
For months, the largest US aircraft carrier has loomed off Venezuela's coast whilst destroyers slice through Caribbean waters. Trump openly discusses land strikes, claiming the US knows "where the bad ones live" and that attacks may begin "very soon". With an eye-watering $50 million bounty on Nicols Maduro's head, matching America's reward for Osama bin Laden, this looks less like counternarcotics and more like regime-hunt theatre.
Washington frames everything as a war on drug trafficking. Trump speaks of fentanyl, cocaine and cartels, claiming the US is finally taking the fight to the source. Yet the drug war narrative quickly falls apart under scrutiny. The US intelligence community itself disputes the central allegation that Maduro orchestrates drug smuggling with criminal groups like Tren de Aragua. Intelligence experts say the administration is exaggerating and at times inventing the threat.
The bounty makes Trump's true intentions clear. That kind of reward isn't about drug interdiction, it's about delegitimising a head of state, turning him into prey, and signalling to Venezuela's military that Washington wants someone to hand Maduro over. The timing isn't accidental either. Maduro has just secured a disputed third term inauguration that the US, EU and many governments reject as fraudulent.
Trump even admits he spoke with Maduro about amnesty terms and possibly leaving for Russia. Senator Markwayne Mullin confirms the US offered safe passage to another country. A military buildup outside your borders, a $50 million bounty on your head, and a quiet exit deal on the table isn't a counternarcotics operation, it's a pressure cooker designed to force surrender.
Venezuela's oil reserves dwarf Saudi Arabia's. If Washington can shape a friendly transition or destabilise a regime aligned with Russia and China, it dramatically alters the hemisphere's energy calculus. This isn't just about Maduro, it's about Moscow, Beijing and signalling strength across Latin America.
More than 87 people have died in 22 strikes so far. The UN demands a halt, warning of extrajudicial killings. But Washington marches ahead, Trump having authorised the CIA for covert operations inside Venezuela whilst refusing to say whether they can act directly against Maduro.
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Published By:
indiatodayglobal
Published On:
Dec 9, 2025
