Written by Tyler Durden
Written by Nick Corbishley via NakedCapitalism.com,
The war drums of the American empire one more time beat loud and strong in Latin America...
According to reports from Reuter's agency, 3 U.S. destroyers equipped with Aegis system, a defence technology designed to track multiple targets and simultaneously neutralize air or marine threats, They'll come. to the Venezuelan coast in the next fewer days. They will be accompanied by 4000 soldiers, reconnaissance aircraft and submarines, which is by far the largest always show of force that the United States has mobilized against the Chavist government in Venezuela.
The alleged casus belli of this military operation is to break up drug trafficking organizations in Latin America, now classified by the White home as Narcotics. These include Venezuelan Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles, who, according to Washington, has close ties to the Maduro government.
It is not essential to add that anyone who believes or supports this latest pretext for war against a country in which the United States has attempted to change the government at least twice in this century and who for more than a decade has been the subject of paralyzing American sanctions is either highly gullible or an empire apologist.
I do not mean by this that Maduro or members of his government are not active in drug trafficking – although, as far as I know, the United States has not yet provided any evidence in support of this thesis – but alternatively that it has little, if at all, to do with the fresh escalation by the US in the years of conflict.
Old, tired and badly written script
This fresh escalation began about 2 weeks ago erstwhile US lawyer General Pam Bondi announced a $50 million prize for information that would lead to Maduro's arrest, compared to $25 million. Erik Prince, the mysterious founder of the disgraced Blackwater mercenary company, whose name has changed so frequently that it's hard to keep up with, tweeted: "Should be alive or dead".
It's an old, defiled script that can't be found even good writers these days:
The news of the deployment of the military, given by CNN, was later confirmed by White home Press Secretary Katerine Leavitt. erstwhile asked if the fresh operation could include landing troops on the Venezuelan coasts, she replied that the US is considering "using all its force" to halt the flow of drugs from Venezuela to the United States and stressed that Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is the head of the cartel as well as an illegal ruler.
This must be a good minute for US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has long been in politics, dreaming of changing the government in Venezuela, as well as Cuba and Nicaragua.
On August 14, Rubio confirmed the deployment of the US Navy and Air Force in the Caribbean Sea as part of the fight against drug cartels that "use global airspace and global waters" to transport drugs to the US.
The deployed American sailors and Marines are allocated to Iwo Jimy (IWO) Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) peculiar Operations Capable (SOC). Both units are trained and equipped to conduct fast global missions in order to accomplish US strategical objectives. No. No. These are narcotics units.
On press conference Rubio pointed out as the main mark of the alleged "Cartel de los Soles", which, according to Washington, is led by Maduro and another high-ranking Venezuelan officials who intend to "drink" the US drugs.
"Cartel de los Soles is 1 of the largest criminal organizations that be in the hemisphere. He is indicted in national courts of the United States," Rubio said. He added that the United States does not recognise Maduro's government, calling it a "criminal venture" which threatens US national safety and oil interests in Guyana, referring to Operation Exxon Mobil in the disputed region Essequibo.
Of course, this has about as much to do with combating drug trafficking as wars in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan had to do with combating muslim terrorism.
In the end, the United States is most likely the largest entity allowing drug trafficking to organizations in the world, while they wage a global war on drugs, as was most likely the largest supporter of muslim terrorist organizations during the global war on terrorism. Both types of organizations proved to be useful allies in the implementation of the US's imperial ambitions (e.g. Colombian and Mexican cartels during the formation of Contras in Nicaragua in the 1980s or the Al-Qaeda divided in Syria), while serving as a useful excuse for military intervention.
True Reasons
The Venezuelan government has no illusions about the real US goals. Venezuela's defence minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said the United States wants to "force government change" in this South American country—a goal they have been pursuing for more than 2 decades, since the failed right-wing coup against Chavez in 2003. Let us besides not forget the grotesque coup effort by Trump's chosen "temporary leader" of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, in 2019.
It is not hard to realize why the United States wants a government change in Venezuela:
It is not just that Venezuela has more oil underground and sea than any another country; it is the fact that it is in the immediate vicinity of the US. During last year's presidential campaign, Trump openly admitted that he wanted to take over Venezuelan oil, saying (emphasis on my): "When I left, Venezuela was ready to fall. We'd get all that oil that would Right next door.".
This tiny passage of the speech is an excellent example of why Trump is hated by so many in the Washington bypass – he speaks silently about Washington's imperial ambitions.
Other reasons why the Trump administration one more time wants to overthrow Maduro's government, despite the continued embarrassment following the Guaidó scandal, are Venezuela's close ties with China, Russia and Iran, the 3 most crucial strategical rivals of the US.
It will be interesting to see how China and Russia will respond if the US invade Venezuela. For his part, Beijing condemned the concentration of Washington's troops in the confederate Caribbean Sea and opposed "any decision that violates the United Nations Charter's objectives and principles, and the sovereignty and safety of the country."
Meanwhile, as far as I know, Moscow is clearly silent about this, despite recent strengthening of military and economical ties with Venezuela, which feeds speculation in any circles that Putin gave Trump a green light to attack.
It is besides entirely likely that the accumulation of troops is part of diversionary tactics. Trump's administration desperately needs to divert its MAGA base from Epstein's ongoing scandal, in connection with which loses support on the side of high-profile personalities like Joe Rogan. In Maduro's expert trolling, he responded to the US raising a prize for his head, offering a prize of $50 million for information on Epstein's case:
President Maduro has so far responded to the mobilisation of US forces, ordering the deployment of 4 and a half million members of the National Bolivarian Militia to defend Venezuela's "territory, sovereignty and peace". From a Venezuelan analysis:
W Monday's tv speech Maduro called on all militia members to be "armed and ready" to defend the full territory of the country. He besides ordered activation campesino (farm militias) and workers in agrarian areas and factories throughout the country.
"No empire will contact Venezuela's sacred land, nor should it contact South America's sacred land," Maduro pointed out.
Bolivian Militia is simply a volunteer combat unit of Venezuelan armed forces, which was formed in 2005 by president Hugo Chávez. It consists of civilian men and women of all ages.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López answered On Tuesday, that militia is ready to "defence all centimeter" of the Caribbean nation. Caracas prohibited utilizing drones in Venezuela for 30 days.
Washington threats are not directed at Venezuela alone, warns Maduro; they are targeted at the full Latin American region. And he's right: We warn Since 2023, the United States has been trying to usage the war on drugs as a way to strengthen its power and strategical influence in its immediate neighbourhood, weapons after weapon range. Venezuelan leader called for the support and unity of all countries of the region.
Washington has rekindled his interest in the alleged "yard" due to the fact that he seeks to retreat from any parts of the planet back to the American continent, as well as regain control of the abundant resources of the region – including uncommon earths, lithium, gold, oil, natural gas, light sweet oil, copper, abundant food crops and immense deposits of fresh water.
This is Laura Richardson, erstwhile commander of the U.S. confederate Command, who explains what SOUTHCOM wants from Latin America and the Caribbean:
The U.S. government and military and corporations whose interests service have eyes on all these awards. They besides have an eye on 2 two-oceanic passages in the region, the Panama Canal and Drake Strait, hence the renewed interest of the U.S. Army in Argentina, as well as the undoubtedly interoceanic corridor developed by the Mexican Tehuantepec Passage.
Mexican-Lebanese geopolitical analyst Alfredo Jalife saysthat 1 of the main objectives of US policy is to keep strict control over the alleged "American Mediterranean", the word first coined in the 19th century by geographer Alexander von Humboldt for the designation of the combined maritime space of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
This area became geopolitical in the mid-20th century thanks to the work of American strategists Alfred Mahan and Nicholas Spykman, with Spykman describing it as soft underbelly of the USA. Jalife's hypothesis gives additional importance to changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico by Trump 2.0 to "The Gulf of America", which was 1 of his first moves after returning to office.
Choir of opposition
In fresh days, many governments in the region I've spoken. against the mobilization of forces by Washington against Venezuela. By "O Globo" Brazilian president Lula da Silva fears Trump is planning a military intervention in Venezuela to overthrow Maduro's government, which would put Brazil in an even more hard situation towards Trump's administration.
The president of the United States imposed 50 percent duties on most Brazilian goods, citing the "witch hunt" of the Brazilian judiciary against erstwhile utmost right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro in connection with his alleged attempted coup effort in 2024. However, there are also possible reasons for Trump's discontent with Brazil, specified as increasing calls Luli for dedollarization, including late at the BRICS summit in Rio.
Other Latin American leaders expressed concern about the fresh episode of American aggression.
"From the heart of South America we powerfully condemn the deployment of United States troops in the waters surrounding Venezuela," wrote Bolivian president Luis Arce on his social networks. "The link between the Bolivian Revolution and... president Nicolás Maduro in connection with drug trafficking is 1 of Trump's top disgraces in fresh times, as is the repeated usage of drug fighting as an instrument of imperialist intervention in countries that disagree with his geopolitical interests.
However, the Ark will shortly finish his term. His successor will be 1 of 2 conservative candidates who went to the second circular of the Bolivian presidential election after the left-wing MAS movement, which ruled Bolivia for most of the last 2 decades, turned against each other. No substance who wins the second round, it is safe to presume that Bolivia will shortly search a closer alliance with the US.
In addition, Arce made a "urgent appeal" to multilateral organizations specified as the Commonwealth of Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAC), the Union of the South American Nations (Unasur) and the Bolivian ALBA-TCP block to call for "extraordinary meetings" to "treat into this issue with the seriousness it deserves" and to defend regional "scenes and peace".
At an extraordinary gathering convened by Maduro, 11 Heads of State and Government of the Bolivian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA-TCP) signed a declaration describing US activities as a threat to regional security. The paper besides condemns Washington's orders to deploy American armed forces under "false pretexts" and demands the immediate cessation of any interventionist action.
Interregional unity is very unlikely, but many governments in the region would like to see support for Maduro and his Chavist movement. If there is something that the American Chaos Empire could always number on, then these are divisions and polarization among the national states of Latin America, partially due to the fact that Washington himself helped sow them.
Readers may remember that Lula himself blocked Venezuela's proposal to join the BRICS Alliance last year, just a fewer months after the contested Maduro re-election. This decision made Maduro even more isolated internationally.
However, Maduro can number on diplomatic support from neighboring Colombia and Mexico. Colombia's president Gustavo Petro warned that the US would make a mistake if they attacked Venezuela.
"Gringos lose conspiracy if they think invasion of Venezuela will solve their problems," Petro said. "They effort to put Venezuela in the same situation as Syria, only to hazard bringing Colombia into this problem".
Colombia, of course, is the United States' closest client state in South America with at least 7 U.S. military bases. However, since Petra's election in 2022, the country has been trying to take a more independent course, joining late the fresh Bank for improvement BRICS.
Mexico's president Sheinbaum besides criticized the United States' deployment of troops close Venezuela, citing Mexico's constitutional commitment to adhere to the principles of non-intervention and self-determination of nations. Mexico, of course, besides faces the threat of US military intervention after being declared an opponent of the U.S. Department of Justice—a destiny the Sheinbaum government was trying to avoid by sending dozens of cartel kapo towards Washington.
"Our constitution clearly says this and it is always our position: self-determination of nations, non-intervention and peaceful settlement of disputes," Sheinbaum said, adding that these problems can be solved through dialogue.
Unfortunately, these are rules for which Washington has small time and respect. As shown in the map below, the United States conducted dozens of military interventions in Latin America in the 20th century, including invasions and mobilizations of troops (violet dots), coups (red colour), government change operations (yellow color) and military support and assistance (orange color).
In the 21st century, he continues to interfere in the region's affairs, although with a somewhat lower frequency and strength (three large operations in Venezuela in 2003, 2019 and now in 2025, Honduras in 2009 and Bolivia in 2019). This may change soon, however, due to the fact that the United States places its imperial ambitions closer to home – including Greenland and Canada, of course. However, someway Venezuela is the "threat for the region".
The fact that the Trump administration seems determined to attack Venezuela—and rather possibly Mexico—as part of a regional war against drug cartels in Latin America, is in conflict with all his promises that he will be the "president of peace" and that he will put America first. As noted by erstwhile American libertarian congressman Ron Paul, president Trump's abroad policy turns out to be just as militant and interventionist as its predecessors.
Given that Trump is in a "peace" mode on Ukraine after the fresh Alaska summit with Putin, it will be interesting to see how his government will cope with the escalation of the war effort with Venezuela. Venezuelan analyst and political scientist William Serafino puts the thesisThat Washington would avoid direct military attacks on Venezuela, preferring alternatively the script of non-kinetic/hybrid operations.
This would include a wide scope of operations, from cyber attacks and infrastructure sabotage to armed violence. Dirty war on destruction, possibly even a 2025 Gideon re-enactment.
Operation Gideon was an effort to infiltrate Venezuela from Colombia by a group of Venezuelan military dissidents in exile and 3 members of the private safety forces stationed in the United States. That was Total fiasco. The first wave of attacks ended with the death of six Venezuelan dissidents, and respective others were captured by local fishermen and local police forces, and subsequently transferred to government forces. The second wave was intercepted by the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB).
If the U.S. tried something akin this time, they should be able to number on the support of Vente Venezuela, opposition forces led by María Corina Machado, who has been hiding since last year's election. At the end of July, Machado sent the following message via social media to her supporters, Venezuelan military and police and the global community:
"We all have tasks to perform, and the first thing is the secret organization of all structures in Venezuela. Just as we disobeyed and left them humiliatingly alone [in yesterday's elections]. We are preparing for civilian action on the day it is needed."
There is hope that a wave of public support will emergence against the Chavist government, while many thousands of soldiers will desert. But we've been here many times; this is Groundhog Day in Venezuela. Machado herself tried to incite a social revolt last September, which failed at nothing. How We noticed Then Venezuela simply does not have a strong, credible opposition:
Even with the support of the US, the EU and many US-aligned governments in Latin America, not to mention the continued support of Western media and lobby groups, she was incapable to overthrow Chavez or Maduro. As the reader of NC Cristobal wrote in a thread to previous post"repeated attempts to overthrow the government through military coups, post-election violence, economical sanctions, and millions of dollars in destabilizing efforts, including terrorism and cyber attacks" have failed at nothing.
This time the difference is that the United States has sent their own forces to this area to carefully observe developments and possibly even engage if necessary, presumably attacking strategical targets utilizing rockets and drones. If war breaks out, 1 thing worth paying attention to is whether another countries in the region will join the military run against Venezuela. The apparent candidates would be Ecuador, Argentina and Peru.
Or electrified by the fresh collapse of the Assad government in Syria and its military support for Israel's 12-day war with Iran, Trump is now ready to cross the border and start another war, this time in Venezuela? And if so, what will it mean for the MAGA movement, especially since Epstein's scandal is inactive bubbling in the background?
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.
