Trump’s escalation in Venezuela: covert operations and the end of diplomacy
The United States is on a collision course with Venezuela, and President Donald Trump’s recent actions leave little doubt about his intentions. CIA-authorized covert operations, military strikes based on shaky evidence, abruptly terminating diplomatic negotiations, and deploying the largest Caribbean military buildup in three decades. These all indicate the Trump administration is systematically laying the groundwork for war with Venezuela. This escalation threatens to drag America into yet another conflict in Latin America, one built on questionable legal foundations and justified by unsubstantiated claims.
A Pattern of Military Escalation
Since early September, the U.S. military has conducted at least six strikes on vessels allegedly transporting drugs from Venezuela, resulting in over 28 confirmed deaths. Trump has publicly celebrated these attacks, claiming without evidence that “every boat we knock out, we save 25,000 American lives.” These strikes have targeted boats in international waters, raising serious questions about due process and international law. Why weren’t these supposed drug traffickers detained to face trial in U.S. courts?
Ten F-35 fighter jets now sit in Puerto Rico. Eight warships patrol Caribbean waters. A nuclear-powered submarine lurks beneath the surface. Approximately 6,500 troops have been deployed to the region. B-52 bombers have flown provocatively off Venezuela’s coast. This represents the largest U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean in more than 30 years, far exceeding what would be necessary for counter-narcotics operations.
“We’re looking at land now because we got the sea very well under control.”
— Donald Trump
Trump’s October 15 confirmation that he authorized CIA covert operations inside Venezuela marked a dramatic escalation. Presidents rarely, if ever, publicly acknowledge ongoing CIA operations. The move appears designed not for operational security but to instill fear in Nicolás Maduro and his supporters. When pressed on whether the CIA has authorization to kill Maduro, Trump refused to answer directly, calling the question “ridiculous.”
Broken Promises and Rejected Peace
Perhaps most revealing is what Trump has rejected. Venezuelan officials, desperate to avoid military confrontation, offered extraordinary concessions that would have granted the United States access to Venezuela’s vast oil and gold reserves. The proposal included allocating current and future oil and gold projects to U.S. companies, granting American businesses preferential contracts, redirecting oil exports from China to the United States, and dramatically reducing energy and mining deals with China, Iran, and Russia.
Venezuela is willing to fundamentally reorient its economy and international partnerships to satisfy Trump’s demands. His administration rejected every proposal. Venezuelan officials even suggested a transition plan where Maduro would step down in three years, transferring power to Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. That too was dismissed.
On October 2, Trump ended all diplomatic outreach to Venezuela, ordering special envoy Richard Grenell to cease all contact with Maduro’s government immediately. During a meeting with military leaders, Trump personally called Grenell and delivered the order. The message was clear: negotiations are over. Only force remains on the table.
When asked about Maduro’s offers on October 17, Trump confirmed them: “He has offered everything. You know why? Because he doesn’t want to f--- around with the United States.” The White House communications team amplified the statement on social media, along with three fire emojis.
The Pretext Problem
Trump’s justifications for this military buildup rest on two claims: that Venezuela is deliberately sending prisoners to the United States through migration, and that Venezuelan drug cartels pose an existential threat to American national security. Neither claim holds up when scrutinized.
Trump has provided no evidence that Venezuela is emptying its prisons into the United States. Regarding drugs, U.S. intelligence agencies have stated there is no evidence supporting Trump’s repeated assertion that Maduro’s government controls Venezuelan drug cartels. Even if drug trafficking from Venezuela is occurring, the legal and moral case for extrajudicial killings without trial remains deeply problematic.
The administration has attempted to justify strikes by designating drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations” and invoking the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force from the Global War on Terror. Legal experts warn these actions likely violate both U.S. and international law, as drug traffickers are not combatants in armed conflicts. Lawmakers from both parties have introduced War Powers Resolutions demanding that Trump cease military operations without Congressional authorization.
Repeating the Past
Trump’s Venezuela strategy resembles some of the darkest chapters of CIA intervention in Latin America: the Bay of Pigs, the overthrow of Allende, support for Contras in Nicaragua, and the invasion of Panama to remove Manuel Noriega. Each operation was justified with noble rhetoric about defending democracy or combating narcotics, and each scarred both the region and America’s moral standing.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has warned that Trump’s actions could destabilize his country if Venezuela descends into chaos. The potential for civilian casualties, refugee flows, and regional destabilization is enormous. Yet the Trump administration appears undeterred, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio repeatedly calling Maduro an “illegitimate” leader and a “fugitive from American justice.”
Brian Fonseca, a Venezuela scholar at Florida International University, described Trump’s public acknowledgment of CIA operations as “psychological operations” aimed at “creating a rift among the political and military elite” to enable Maduro’s removal. In other words, regime change—a goal Trump officials have privately acknowledged, according to reports.
A Question of Democracy and Peace
The United States faces a choice. We can pursue the path of military escalation, covert operations, and regime change that Trump is charting, leading to more death, regional instability, and another protracted conflict draining American resources and credibility. Or we can demand our leaders exhaust diplomatic options, respect international law, and seek multilateral solutions to complex problems.
Trump’s actions toward Venezuela are not about drugs or border security. They are about demonstrating American military dominance and attempting to overthrow a foreign government through force. Americans by more than 2-to-1 margins oppose using military force for regime change. Congress has not authorized war with Venezuela. Yet Trump is preparing us for exactly that.
Trump is not preparing for negotiations with Venezuela. He is preparing us for war.
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