What we know about U.S. military action in Venezuela: Growing number of air and naval assets in the Caribbean
The United States has reportedly deployed military assets across the Caribbean. Some have viewed it as an attempt to exert political pressure on Venezuela.
In a memo to Congress, President Donald Trump has said that the United States is currently in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. In recent weeks his administration his increased counter-actions against alleged smugglers in the Caribbean, but neighboring countries are concerned.
On Friday a U.S. strike was reported by Trump’s Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. He wrote on X to confirm that he had carried out Trump’s order, directing a “lethal, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organizations in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility.”
The United States has stepped up military operations near Venezuela, launching repeated strikes on vessels it claims are involved in the drug trade. Friday’s strike was the fourth such attack in the southern Caribbean in recent weeks.
The Trump administration has framed these operations as part of a new a “non-international armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels. By classifying cartel members as “unlawful combatants,” the White House is claiming broad authority to use lethal force against suspected traffickers.
At the same time, the Pentagon has pushed assets into the region in a show of force. The deployment includes eight warships, a nuclear fast-attack submarine, stealth F-35 fighters positioned in Puerto Rico and thousands of sailors and Marines.
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro has taken the U.S. moves as a provocation and has responded by granting himself sweeping emergency powers for 90 days. His decree authorizes the military to mobilize nationwide, seize control of public services and tighten the government’s grip on the valuable oil sector. Maduro argues the U.S. strikes are outside the limits of international law, alleging that they are being used as a pretext to undermine his government.
The operations have sparked debate in Washington and abroad. Critics warn that firing on suspected drug boats without attempting arrests raises serious legal and ethical questions.
For now, however, the U.S. is continuing to pursue this aggressive stance, keeping warships, aircraft and combat forces concentrated in the Caribbean. The coming weeks may reveal whether Washington’s strategy remains a containment effort or if these strikes are the opening moves in a bigger conflict.
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