Although President Donald Trump’s administration has been openly hostile to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for months, there’s no sign Maduro has given up power as a result.
Still, Trump shared a screenshot of an X post Dec. 1 that read, “BREAKING: Venezuelan President (Maduro) publicly surrendered to President Trump!!”
Trump’s post included video of Maduro giving a speech along with the caption, “BREAKING: Venezuelan President just publicly surrendered to President Trump! Maduro has now turned in state evidence against the Biden admin & is releasing proof that Biden asked the Venezuelan government to ship Tren de Aragua dr*g gangs into the US.”
Trump’s administration has pressured the Venezuelan government with more than 20 military strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean against what he describes as drug boats from Venezuela and Colombia. He has also threatened to attack drug cartels on land and positioned the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, among an armada of U.S. ships in the waters off Venezuela.
But Maduro didn’t recently publicly surrender or turn in state evidence showing proof that Biden was involved with members of the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua prison gang.
The video Trump shared is from a February speech Maduro gave during a Venezuelan government event. Translated from Spanish, the name of the event was a “high-level workshop of the people’s government.”
We also translated the part of Maduro’s speech that Trump shared. In it, Maduro says: “I respectfully tell President Donald Trump to request FBI and DEA reports from the last four years, specifically from their offices in Colombia, so that you, President Trump, can see who financed, who moved, who directed the infamous Tren de Aragua, who brought it to Colombia, and who brought it to the United States.”
Maduro said his administration “dismembered” and eliminated Tren de Aragua, and he accused the group of operating in Colombia and having “deep ties” to the Biden administration.
“If anything can be said about the terrorism of the Tren de Aragua — the now-extinct Tren de Aragua — it is that they wanted to attack the country’s cities with terrorism, and we prevented it with intelligence and action,” Maduro said. “President Trump, request those reports so that you can see — I say this sincerely and respectfully — the truth about the infamous Tren de Aragua. Our migrants are not criminals. They are not bad people, they were people who migrated as a result of the sanctions, they are good people, hardworking people.”
Although Maduro alleged in his speech that the Biden administration was involved with Tren de Aragua, he provided no evidence, contrary to what Trump’s post said.
Venezuelan investigative journalist Ronna Risquez, who published a book about Tren de Aragua, said in a March 18 interview that she found no evidence that the Venezuelan government had sent Tren de Aragua members to the U.S.
We found no credible news reports saying that Maduro “publicly surrendered.” Rather, news coverage has shown Maduro energetically engaging with his constituents. He made news for publicly dancing before a Caracas crowd to music that featured a remix of his past speeches in which he said, “No war, yes peace.”
On Dec. 1, Maduro replayed the song and said the U.S. hasn’t been able to “take us down with their psychological terrorism.”
On Dec. 2, he shared a video that showed him ordering Venezuelans to “work, and work more, and to party.”
And on Dec. 3, Maduro posted a TikTok video showcasing an aerospace exhibition.
We rate Trump’s claim that the February video of the Venezuelan president shows him surrendering Pants on Fire!
The USS Gerald R. Ford is the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
U.S. Navy
President Donald Trump jolted an already-tense standoff with Venezuela on Saturday morning, declaring on his Truth Social account that all airspace “above and surrounding Venezuela” should be considered “closed in its entirety.”
Addressing “Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” he offered no operational details but warned that the directive required immediate attention. The statement landed amid a rapid escalation in U.S. military posture toward Caracas and mounting fears of conflict across the Caribbean.
“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY. Thank you for your attention to this matter!,” Trump wrote.
Trump’s declaration capped a week in which his administration signaled it is preparing a more assertive phase of operations targeting Venezuela’s so-called Cartel de los Soles., which according to Washington is headed by strongman Nicolás Maduro and top members of his regime.
On Thursday, the president announced that U.S. military actions—until now focused on sinking speedboats suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean—would soon move onto Venezuelan territory. Speaking to service members during a Thanksgiving call, he said the U.S. Armed Forces would “very soon” begin land-based efforts to disrupt what he characterized as Venezuelan drug-trafficking networks.
Members of the U.S. Marine Corps, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 225, work at Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport on Sept. 13, 2025 in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. President Donald Trump was sending 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico as part of his war on drug cartels, sources familiar with the matter told AFP, as tensions mount with Venezuela over Washington’s military build-up in the Caribbean. MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO AFP via Getty Images
He said maritime operations had already destroyed more than 20 vessels and resulted in more than 80 deaths since Sept. 1, claiming the United States had halted “85%” of the maritime flow. Venezuelan groups, he said, were “sending poison” northward that kills “thousands of people a year.”
Despite the sharper rhetoric and growing U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, quiet diplomatic contacts have taken place between Washington and Caracas in recent days, according to news reports. Whether those conversations can restrain the accelerating confrontation remains unclear.
Washington has simultaneously sought to expand its legal authority. On Monday, the State Department formally designated the Cartel de los Soles a Foreign Terrorist Organization, placing Maduro, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López in the same legal category as leaders of al-Qaeda and ISIS.
The designation, published in the Federal Register, is seen as an instrument that grants the administration new latitude to take military action without additional congressional approval.
Analysts say the move is sweeping in scope. Because U.S. officials argue that the cartel operates from within the Venezuelan state, the designation effectively treats the Maduro government as part of a terrorist network.
Experts note the measure could allow the administration to invoke the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, the law underpinning most U.S. counterterrorism operations over the past two decades. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the designation “opens up a lot of new options,” and Trump has suggested it could permit strikes on Venezuelan assets and infrastructure. He has also said he remains open to negotiation.
Caracas denounced the move, calling it a false pretext for foreign intervention and insisting the cartel is an American invention. “It is foolish for the Venezuelan government to waste part of its valuable governing time responding to these slanders and calumnies,” the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said Monday, adding that Venezuelans remained “united and cohesive” and were preparing for Christmas festivities.
The expanding U.S. legal framework has coincided with a significant buildup of military hardware near Venezuela’s borders. For more than two months, American naval and air assets have surged into the Caribbean, including the Nov. 16 arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford—the world’s largest aircraft carrier. At least 10 additional warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 fighter jets are also deployed. U.S. commanders say the missions support counter-narcotics operations, but regional observers note the level of firepower far exceeds typical interdiction activity.
Inside Venezuela, the sense of crisis has deepened. Maduro has repeatedly claimed the United States is attempting to overthrow him, and in recent days his government has urged citizens and the armed forces to prepare for “prolonged resistance” should an invasion occur.
Defense Minister Padrino accused Washington of staging provocations, citing U.S. military exercises in neighboring Trinidad and Tobago. “No threat, no air-naval deployment, however powerful or intimidating, can take away Venezuela’s right to continue on its path of freedom and independence,” he said recently on state television.
Beyond the military realm, the rising tension has triggered swift regional consequences. Concerned about the security situation in the Caribbean, six airlines suspended their routes to Venezuela over the weekend after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning urging aircraft to “exercise extreme caution” in and around Venezuelan airspace. Iberia of Spain, Portugal’s TAP, Colombia’s Avianca, Trinidad and Tobago’s Caribbean Airlines, Brazil’s GOL and Chile’s LATAM halted flights, said Marisela de Loaiza, president of the Venezuelan Association of Airlines. She provided no timeline for the resumption of service.
The FAA cited “worsening security conditions and increased military activity” in the region and warned that the risks “could pose a potential danger to aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight, arrival and departure phases, and to airports and aircraft on the ground.”
Human-rights groups have raised alarms over the lethality of recent U.S. maritime interdictions. Since early September, U.S. forces have carried out at least 21 strikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, leaving at least 83 people dead. Advocacy organizations describe the killings as extrajudicial, while some regional governments worry Washington may be operating close to—or beyond—international legal boundaries.
This story was originally published November 29, 2025 at 9:50 AM.
Galardonado periodista con más de 30 años de experiencia, especializado en la cobertura de temas sobre Venezuela. Amante de la historia y la literatura.
Honorable Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, speaks onstage during Global Citizen NOW: Impact Sessions on September 24, 2025 in New York City.
Rob Kim
Getty Images for Global Citizen
For the first time in nearly a quarter of a century, the twin-island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the eastern Caribbean is expected to be governed by someone other than Ralph Gonsalves.
In a stunning upset, opposition leader Godwin Friday is projected to be the country’s seventh prime minister after his New Democratic Party defeated Gonsalves’ Unity Labor Party in a close race, according to the St Vincent Times. Gonsalves, 79, is projected to hold onto his North Central Windward seat. He will now serve as leader of the opposition after failing to secure an unprecedented sixth-consecutive, five-year term as prime minister.
Preliminary results have the NDP winning 11 of the 15 seats up for grab in the election, which was a contest primarily centered between Gonsalves’ and Friday’s political parties. Among the casualties were Gonsalves’ son and finance minister, Camillo Gonsalves.
Friday, 66, unsuccessfully ran in 2020, and this go-around campaigned on severing ties with Taiwan in favor of mainland China and introducing the controversial citizenship by investment, CBI, program, which allows foreigners to get a passport in exchange for investments or payments. Both policies were opposed by Gonsalves, who headed one of the region’s longest, uninterrupted political dynasties.
The change of leadership in the island-nation with an estimated population of just over 100,600 residents, comes amid heightened regional tensions over the U.S. military buildup in the southern Caribbean, off the coast of Venezuela. While the Trump Administration says the operations are targeted at drug traffickers, they have divided regional leaders, some of whom believe the real purpose is to pressure Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to step down.
A Maduro ally, Gonsalves has criticized the U.S. operations as well as Trinidad and Tobago’s support. He’s also expressed frustration over the lack of clarity coming from the 15-member Caribbean Community bloc known as CARICOM.
In October, during a regional conference he warned that any forced regime change in Caracas would have dire consequences, including mass migration and new security threats in the Caribbean, which has promoted itself as a zone of peace.
Since September, the U.S. strikes have killed at least 83 people.
On Wednesday, the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, agreed to allow U.S. aircraft to refuel at the San Isidro Air Base and Las Américas International Airport. The country’s decision came during a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Gonsalves’ tenure in office dates to 2001. Since then, he’s emerged as not only a titan in the region, speaking out on various matters including the ongoing crisis in Haiti, a CARICOM member state. For example, he was behind a decision to put the Dominican Republic’s request to join the mostly English-speaking regional bloc on hold after the Dominican Constitutional Court in 2013 revoked the citizenships of tens of thousands of Black Dominicans and individuals of Haitian descent.
As Vincentians celebrated Friday’s victory late Thursday, Caribbean leaders extended their congratulations.
St. Lucia opposition leader, Allen Chastanet, who is hoping to return to power in his country’s Dec. 1 general election, told Friday the victory is a testament to his perseverance, integrity and the trust the people have placed in his leadership.
“May your tenure be guided by wisdom, progress and an unwavering commitment to the people you now serve,” he said.
Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who is the current chairman of CARICOM, said the election marks “an important moment for the Vincentian people” and his hurricane-recovering nation looks “forward to strengthening our cooperation as we continue to build a more resilient and prosperous Caribbean region together.”
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar also extended congratulations. She and Gonsalves had disagreed over the U.S. operations in the Caribbean. In a statement, Persad-Bissessar, said the people of St. Vincent had given Godwin and his party, “a resounding democratic mandate.”
This story was originally published November 27, 2025 at 10:18 PM.
Jacqueline Charles has reported on Haiti and the English-speaking Caribbean for the Miami Herald for over a decade. A Pulitzer Prize finalist for her coverage of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, she was awarded a 2018 Maria Moors Cabot Prize — the most prestigious award for coverage of the Americas.
CARACAS, Venezuela — On the face of it, the United States appears closer than ever to mounting a military campaign to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela.
President Trump says he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside the Caribbean nation, and has massed troops, fighter jets and warships just off its coastline.
U.S. service members in the region have been barred from taking Thanksgiving leave. Airlines have canceled flights to Venezuela after the Federal Aviation Administration warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” there. And on Monday the White House officially designated Maduro as a member of an international terrorist group.
In Caracas, the nation’s capital, there is a palpable sense of anxiety, especially as each new bellicose pronouncement emerges from Washington.
“People are very tense,” said Rosa María López, 47, a podiatrist and mother of two. “Although no one says anything because they are afraid.”
Traffic is sparse at the Simon Bolivar Maiquetia International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, on Sunday after several international airlines canceled flights following a warning from the Federal Aviation Administration about a hazardous situation in Venezuelan airspace.
(Ariana Cubillos / Associated Press)
Trump has been presented with a set of military options by the Pentagon, a source familiar with the matter told The Times, and is said to be weighing his options. Still, his plans for Venezuela remain opaque.
Trump, even while warning of a possible military action, has also continually floated the possibility of negotiations, saying he “probably would talk” to Maduro at some point.
“I don’t rule out anything,” Trump said last week.
Now people in both the U.S. and Venezuela are wondering: is the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean the prelude to an invasion, or a bluff intended to pressure Maduro to make a deal?
There are members of the White House — especially Secretary of State Marco Rubio — who are desperate to unseat Maduro, a leftist autocrat whom the U.S. does not recognize as Venezuela’s legitimately elected president.
But other members of Trump’s team seem more intent on securing access to Venezuela’s oil riches, and keeping them from China and Russia, than pushing for regime change. Parties of that camp might be willing to accept a deal with Venezuela that does not call for Maduro’s exit and a plan for a democratic transition.
Months of U.S. saber-rattling without any direct military action against the Maduro government may be weakening the Americans’ negotiating position, said Geoff Ramsey, a Venezuela expert at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based research group. “There is a psychological component to this operation, and it’s starting to lose its credibility,” he said. “I do fear that the regime thinks that it has weathered the worst of U.S. pressure.”
Maduro, for his part, insists he is open to dialogue. “Whoever in the U.S. wants to talk with Venezuela can do so,” he said this week. “We cannot allow the bombing and massacre of a Christian people — the people of Venezuela.”
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, speaking Friday at the presidential palace in Caracas, has insisted he is open to dialogue with the United States.
(Cristian Hernandez / Associated Press)
For years, he has refused efforts to force him from office, even in the face of punishing U.S. sanctions, domestic protests against his rule and various offensives during the first Trump administration that Caracas deemed as coup attempts. Experts say there is no evidence that Trump’s buildup of troops — or his attacks on alleged drug traffickers off of Venezuela’s coast — has weakened Maduro’s support amid the military or other hard-core backers.
Venezuela, meanwhile, has sought to use the prospect of a U.S. invasion to bolster support at home.
On Monday, top officials here took aim at the State Department’s designation of an alleged Venezuelan drug cartel as a foreign terrorist group. Rubio claims the Cartel de los Soles is “headed by Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking individuals of the illegitimate Maduro regime who have corrupted Venezuela’s military, intelligence, legislature and judiciary.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth praised the declaration for introducing “a whole bunch of new options” to fight what he described as “narco-terrorists” and “illegitimate regimes.”
The Venezuelan government says the Cartel de los Soles does not exist. Foreign Minister Yván Gil described Monday’s designation as a “ridiculous fabrication.” The U.S., he said, is using a “vile lie to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela under the classic U.S. format of regime change.”
The truth is somewhere in the middle.
The Cartel de los Soles, experts say, is less a traditional cartel — with a centralized command structure directing various cells — than a shorthand term used in the media and elsewhere to describe a loose group of corrupt Venezuelan military officials implicated in the drug trade.
The name, Cartel of the Suns, derives from the sun insignia found on the uniforms of Venezuelan soldiers, much like stars on U.S. military uniforms. It has been around since the early 1990s, when Venezuela was an important trans-shipment point for Colombian cocaine bound for the U.S. market. Today, only a small portion of cocaine trafficked to the U.S. moves through Venezuela.
Venezuelan journalist Ronna Rísquez Sánchez said it is unclear whether Maduro actually directs illicit activities conducted by his military or simply allows it to transpire among his government. Either way, she said, it is “happening under his nose.”
But she did not rule out that seizing on Maduro’s possible links to drug trafficking might be a convenient “pretext” for U.S. political machinations.
For the people of Venezuela, recent weeks have seen a heightened sense of uncertainty and anguish as people ponder ever-conflicting reports about a possible U.S. strike.
More than a decade of political, social and economic upheaval has left people exhausted and numbed, often unable to believe anything they hear about the future of Maduro’s government. There is a widespread sense of resignation and a feeling that things can only get worse.
“Every week we hear they are going to get rid of Maduro, but he’s still here,” said Inés Rojas, 25, a street vendor in Caracas. “We all want a change, but a change that improves things, not makes them worse. We young people don’t have a future. The doors of immigration are closed, we are locked in here, not knowing what is going to happen.”
Mostly, people seem to want an end to the overwhelming feeling of not knowing what comes next.
“I pray every day that this uncertainty ends,” said Cristina López Castillo, 37, an unemployed office worker who favors Maduro’s removal from office. “We don’t have a future — or a present. We live every day wondering what will happen tomorrow. I have more fear of hunger than of Trump.”
Still, Maduro retains many backers — and not only among the military and political elite who have seen their loyalty rewarded with additional wealth. Many people remain thankful for the social welfare legacy of Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, and are wary of U.S. motivations in Venezuela.
“We Venezuelans do not want to be anyone’s colony, nor do we want anyone to drop bombs on us to get rid of a president,” said José Gregorio Martínez Pina, 45, a construction worker in the capital.
“Is Maduro a narco? I haven’t seen any proof,” he said. “And if they have it, they should present it, instead of having a country living under terror for weeks.”
Times staff writers Linthicum and McDonnell reported in Mexico City. Mogollón, a special correspondent, reported in Caracas. Michael Wilner in the Times’ Washington bureau also contributed reporting.
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Kate Linthicum, Patrick J. McDonnell, Mery Mogollón
President Donald Trump speaks with Attorney General Pam Bondi as he delivers an announcement on his Homeland Security Task Force in the State Dining Room of the White House on October 23, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong
Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Friday night he has already decided on his next steps toward Venezuela, offering his clearest indication yet that Washington is preparing new military actions against Nicolás Maduro’s government as the United States dramatically expands its presence in the Caribbean.
“I sort of made up my mind,” Trump told reporters when pressed about recent high-level meetings on Venezuela within his administration and the deployment of U.S. forces near the country’s shores. Speaking briefly as he walked toward Air Force One before departing Washington for a weekend trip to Florida, the president declined to elaborate. “I can’t say what it will be,” he added.
Trump’s comments—captured in an audio recording by a reporter traveling with the press pool—came less than an hour after The Washington Post reported that he had met with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and senior Pentagon officials on Friday. According to the paper, the discussions focused on “a series of options” to advance the administration’s strategy against Venezuela, whose leadership U.S. officials increasingly accuse of turning the country into a narco-state.
Those accusations escalated in August, when U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi doubled the reward for Maduro’s capture to $50 million, calling him “one of the world’s biggest drug traffickers” and alleging he leads the regime-led Soles drug cartel. Bondi cited alleged collaboration between Maduro and criminal groups, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, and other transnational networks.
President Trump ordered the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers to the southern Caribbean, off the coast of Venezuela Sipa USA U.S. Navy/Sipa USA
A senior U.S. official, speaking anonymously to The Post, said the American forces already positioned in the Caribbean are awaiting orders to “strike and respond” to new operations. The official said Trump prefers to maintain “strategic ambiguity,” withholding clear signals about timing or targets to keep adversaries off balance.
Concerns about a looming escalation intensified Friday after Doral-based U.S. Southern Command posted a video on X showing the destruction of another vessel in the Caribbean, saying four alleged drug traffickers on board had been killed. Since Thursday, the administration has begun referring to the mission as Operation Southern Spear—a campaign Hegseth says is designed to block narcotics shipments bound for the United States.
Even ahead of the announcement, the U.S. Navy had already surged unprecedented firepower into the region. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, entered SOUTHCOM’s area of responsibility this week, expanding what officials describe as the largest U.S. military presence in the Caribbean in decades.
Under Operation Southern Spear, an estimated 15,000 to 16,000 personnel are now operating near Venezuela. Washington describes the mobilization as part of a counter-narcotics effort, while Caracas denounces it as a prelude to regime change and has triggered a nationwide military mobilization in response.
At the center of the buildup is the Ford Carrier Strike Group, which arrived Tuesday. The nuclear-powered carrier—capable of launching more than 75 aircraft—is usually escorted by seven Arleigh Burke–class destroyers, including the USS Bainbridge, USS Mahan, USS Winston S. Churchill, and USS Gravely. The deployment also includes two guided-missile cruisers.
A U.S. military video released by the Department of Defense shows a precision strike destroying a high-speed narcotics vessel in international waters on Sept. 2, 2025. The footage, later shared by Trump on Truth Social, was described as targeting the Tren de Aragua criminal organization amid a U.S. naval buildup in the Caribbean. Department of Defense
A major amphibious force is also in place. The USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale are carrying roughly 4,500 Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, along with helicopters, Osprey tilt-rotors and landing craft. Live-fire drills near the Venezuelan coast and the presence of the fast-attack submarine USS Newport News further underscore U.S. readiness. Additional assets include Coast Guard cutters, F-35Bs, MQ-9 Reapers, CH-53 helicopters, and P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft operating from Puerto Rico. A special-operations support vessel, the MV Ocean Trader, is providing logistics and covert-insertion capabilities.
The escalation follows more than 20 U.S. strikes on suspected drug-running boats since September, which have reportedly caused about 80 deaths, including alleged civilian casualties. Although Trump has not authorized land strikes, options under review reportedly include attacks on ports and airstrips tied to trafficking networks.
Venezuela has activated more than 200,000 troops and militia members under “Plan Independencia 200,” reinforcing coastal air defenses—possibly including Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missile systems—and hardening strategic sites. With U.S. naval forces operating ever closer to Venezuelan waters, analysts warn the risk of miscalculation is rising.
The USS Gerald R. Ford is the world’s largest aircraft carrier. U.S. Navy
While the deployments are officially framed as part of an anti-narcotics mission, they coincide with growing tensions with Caracas, which is scrambling to reinforce its Russian- and Iranian-backed air defense network amid speculation that U.S. forces may strike targets inside the country.
In recent days, multiple news outlets, including the Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal, have reported that the administration has identified several Venezuelan military facilities allegedly linked to drug trafficking as potential targets. Regional diplomats quoted in those stories have described the expanding U.S. flotilla as an “armada,” warning that the buildup has raised alarm across Latin America.
Inside Venezuela, the arrival of the Ford has heightened public anxiety. Many residents view the deployment of the carrier—rarely used in counter-drug missions—as a symbolic threshold that could signal the next phase of Trump’s pressure campaign. With U.S. officials suggesting orders could come at any moment, uncertainty is deepening in Caracas and among Venezuela’s neighbors, who are watching closely to see whether Washington’s posture shifts from deterrence to action.
Galardonado periodista con más de 30 años de experiencia, especializado en la cobertura de temas sobre Venezuela. Amante de la historia y la literatura.
As the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier sails to the Caribbean, the U.S. military continues striking drug-carrying boats off the Venezuelan coast and the Trump administration debates what to do about Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, one thing seems certain: Venezuela and the western hemisphere would all be better off if Maduro packed his bags and spent his remaining years in exile.
This is certainly what Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado is working toward. This year’s Nobel Prize laureate has spent much of her time recently in the U.S. lobbying policymakers to squeeze Maduro into vacating power. Constantly at risk of detention in her own country, Machado is granting interviews and dialing into conferences to advocate for regime change. Her talking points are clearly tailored for the Trump administration: Maduro is the head of a drug cartel that is poisoning Americans; his dictatorship rests on weak pillars; and the forces of democracy inside Venezuela are fully prepared to seize the mantle once Maduro is gone. “We are ready to take over government,” Machado told Bloomberg News in an October interview.
But as the old saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. While there’s no disputing that Maduro is a despot and a fraud who steals elections, U.S. policymakers can’t simply take what Machado is saying for granted. Washington learned this the hard way in the lead-up to the war in Iraq, when an opposition leader named Ahmed Chalabi sold U.S. policymakers a bill of goods about how painless rebuilding a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq would be. We all know how the story turned out — the United States stumbled into an occupation that sucked up U.S. resources, unleashed unpredicted regional consequences and proved more difficult than its proponents originally claimed.
To be fair, Machado is no Chalabi. The latter was a fraudster; the former is the head of an opposition movement whose candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, won two-thirds of the vote during the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election (Maduro claimed victory anyway and forced González into exile). But just because her motives are good doesn’t mean we shouldn’t question her assertions.
Would regime change in Caracas produce the Western-style democracy Machado and her supporters anticipate? None of us can rule it out. But the Trump administration can’t bank on this as the outcome of a post-Maduro future. Other scenarios are just as likely, if not more so — and some of them could lead to greater violence for Venezuelans and more problems for U.S. policy in Latin America.
The big problem with regime change is you can never be entirely sure what will happen after the incumbent leader is removed. Such operations are by their very nature dangerous and destabilizing; political orders are deliberately shattered, the haves become have-nots, and constituencies used to holding the reins of power suddenly find themselves as outsiders. When Hussein was deposed in Iraq, the military officers, Ba’ath Party loyalists and regime-tied sycophants who ruled the roost for nearly a quarter-century were forced to make do with an entirely new situation. The Sunni-dominated structure was overturned, and members of the Shia majority, previously oppressed, were now eagerly taking their place at the top of the system. This, combined with the U.S. decision to bar anyone associated with the old regime from serving in state positions, fed the ingredients for a large-scale insurgency that challenged the new government, precipitated a civil war and killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.
Regime change can also create total absences of authority, as it did in Libya after the 2011 U.S.-NATO intervention there. Much like Maduro today, Moammar Kadafi was a reviled figure whose demise was supposed to pave the way for a democratic utopia in North Africa. The reality was anything but. Instead, Kadafi’s removal sparked conflict between Libya’s major tribal alliances, competing governments and the proliferation of terrorist groups in a country just south of the European Union. Fifteen years later, Libya remains a basket case of militias, warlords and weak institutions.
Unlike Iraq and Libya, Venezuela has experience in democratic governance. It held relatively free and fair elections in the past and doesn’t suffer from the types of sectarian rifts associated with states in the Middle East.
Still, this is cold comfort for those expecting a democratic transition. Indeed, for such a transition to be successful, the Venezuelan army would have to be on board with it, either by sitting on the sidelines as Maduro’s regime collapses, actively arresting Maduro and his top associates, or agreeing to switch its support to the new authorities. But again, this is a tall order, particularly for an army whose leadership is a core facet of the Maduro regime’s survival, has grown used to making obscene amounts of money from illegal activity under the table and whose members are implicated in human rights abuses. The very same elites who profited handsomely from the old system would have to cooperate with the new one. This doesn’t appear likely, especially if their piece of the pie will shrink the moment Maduro leaves.
Finally, while regime change might sound like a good remedy to the problem that is Venezuela, it might just compound the difficulties over time. Although Maduro’s regime’s remit is already limited, its complete dissolution could usher in a free-for-all between elements of the former government, drug trafficking organizations and established armed groups like the Colombian National Liberation Army, which have long treated Venezuela as a base of operations. Any post-Maduro government would have difficulty managing all of this at the same time it attempts to restructure the Venezuelan economy and rebuild its institutions. The Trump administration would then be facing the prospect of Venezuela serving as an even bigger source of drugs and migration, the very outcome the White House is working to prevent.
In the end, María Corina Machado could prove to be right. But she is selling a best-case assumption. The U.S. shouldn’t buy it. Democracy after Maduro is possible but is hardly the only possible result — and it’s certainly not the most likely.
Daniel R. DePetris is a fellow at Defense Priorities.
The USS Gerald R. Ford is the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
U.S. Navy
The world’s largest and most technologically advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has entered the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility, further expanding what is already the biggest U.S. military presence in the Caribbean in decades, the Navy said Tuesday.
The deployment — officially framed as a mission against narcotics trafficking and transnational crime — comes as tensions escalate between the U.S. and Venezuela, where the Nicolás Maduro regime is rushing to reinforce a troubled Russian- and Iranian-backed air defense network.
The Ford Carrier Strike Group arrives as new antiaircraft platforms surface across Venezuela. Last week, Russian-made Buk-M2E medium-range surface-to-air missile systems were spotted inside Caracas’ La Carlota military airport, following an urgent appeal by Maduro for Moscow and Beijing to help prepare for what he describes as the threat of a U.S. invasion.
The Buk-M2E, known by NATO as the SA-17 Grizzly, can engage multiple aircraft, helicopters and cruise missiles simultaneously with its 9M317E interceptor, which has a range of up to 28 miles.
Major U.S. buildup
The Ford strike group, consisting of guided-missile destroyers USS Bainbridge, USS Mahan and USS Winston S. Churchill, was ordered into the region after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed additional forces to support President Donald Trump’s mandate to dismantle transnational criminal organizations and counter narco-terrorism threatening the U.S. homeland.
“The enhanced U.S. force presence in the SOUTHCOM AOR will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a Navy press release. “These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs.”
With more than 4,000 sailors and dozens of tactical aircraft, the Ford gives U.S. commanders unmatched reach for sustained operations at sea. Its electromagnetic catapult and advanced arresting gear allow simultaneous launches and recoveries of aircraft, offering a significant edge in both combat and surveillance missions.
The carrier will operate alongside the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and its Marine Expeditionary Unit, under a joint task force said to be focused on dismantling criminal networks using maritime routes in the Caribbean and along the coasts of Central and South America.
“Through unwavering commitment and the precise use of our forces, we stand ready to combat the transnational threats that seek to destabilize our region,” said Adm. Alvin Holsey, commander of the Doral-based Southern Command.
What the Ford brings to the table:
The Ford Strike Group carries a formidable mix of air, surface and electronic-warfare assets. Its embarked Carrier Air Wing 8 includes:
• F/A-18E/F Super Hornets
• E/A-18G Growlers
• E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes
• MH-60S and MH-60R Seahawks
• C-2A Greyhounds
The accompanying destroyers bring layered air, surface and submarine defenses through the Aegis Combat System. The USS Winston S. Churchill, serving as Integrated Air and Missile Defense Commander, provides protection against long-range aerial threats.
Venezuela builds its own shield
The U.S. show of force has further strained relations with Caracas, with Maduro accusing Washington of planning “acts of aggression” under the guise of counter-narcotics missions. Since late September, Venezuela has been in a state of emergency, mobilized its armed forces and Bolivarian Militia, and unveiled what analysts describe as one of the most integrated—though unevenly functioning—air defense networks in Latin America.
At its core are Russian-built S-300VM long-range missile systems capable of intercepting aircraft and ballistic missiles more than 125 miles away. Analysts believe three battalions protect Caracas and key industrial corridors. Buk-M2E, Pantsir-S1, upgraded S-125 Pechora-2M, and newly delivered Iranian Bavar-373 missile systems add medium- and short-range capacity.
For close-range defense, Venezuela has distributed thousands of Igla-S MANPADS, Russian-made shoulder-launched surface-t0-air missile systems, across the country.
Russian and Iranian lifelines
Despite Venezuela’s crippling maintenance issues, Russia, Iran and China continue to support Maduro. Russian military transport aircraft reportedly delivered fresh missile components and Pantsir batteries in late October, and Russian advisors are assisting local operators. Iran has supplied Bavar-373 systems and cruise-missile technology; China contributes radars and electronic-warfare platforms.
Even with the new hardware, experts estimate that only 25–40% of Venezuela’s radar and missile network is fully operational due to financial sanctions and a chronic shortage of spare parts. Still, the systems could challenge U.S. air operations near Venezuelan airspace.
A recent Washington Post report said Maduro urgently asked China, Russia and Iran for additional radars, drone technology, aircraft repairs and potentially more missiles. It remains unclear what Beijing has promised.
Strike speculation intensifies
Reports over the past week indicate the U.S. military is expanding its presence in the Caribbean, fueling speculation about potential strikes inside Venezuela. The Miami Herald and Wall Street Journal have reported that the Trump administration has identified Venezuelan military sites allegedly tied to drug-trafficking networks as possible bombing targets.
As Washington amasses what regional diplomats have described as an “armada,” anxiety is rising across Venezuela. Many citizens view the Ford’s arrival as a symbolic turning point that could signal the next phase of Trump’s pressure campaign.
Speaking last week by video at the America Business Forum in Miami, top opposition leader María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, endorsed Trump’s approach, calling it “absolutely correct” and a watershed in the hemisphere’s fight against tyranny and organized crime.
In August, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi doubled the reward for Maduro’s capture to $50 million, calling him “one of the world’s biggest drug traffickers” and the leader of the Cartel de los Soles. Bondi said he works with groups including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and other transnational criminal networks.
Walter Russell Mead is the Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship at Hudson Institute, the Global View Columnist at The Wall Street Journal and the Alexander Hamilton Professor of Strategy and Statecraft with the Hamilton Center for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida.
He is also a member of Aspen Institute Italy and board member of Aspenia. Before joining Hudson, Mr. Mead was a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations as the Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy. He has authored numerous books, including the widely-recognized Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How It Changed the World (Alfred A. Knopf, 2004). Mr. Mead’s most recent book is entitled The Arc of A Covenant: The United States, Israel, and the Fate of the Jewish People.
CARACAS, Venezuela — Some viewed the news as signaling the beginning of the end of the economic, political and social calamity that, for the last decade, has engulfed Venezuela, prompting millions to flee their South American homeland.
“When I saw the news, I cried, hugged my children and prayed,” said Mari Carmen Bermúdez, 34, a supermarket cashier in Caracas. “I feel like our nightmare will end soon.”
Others said the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to María Corina Machado — a veteran antigovernment activist who lives here in hiding — was just the latest chapter in the U.S.-led plot to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro.
“In my opinion, señora Machado has never called for peace in the country, only for war,” said Yober David Avalos, 28, an appliance repairman and motorcycle taxi driver. “I don’t think she’s a persecuted politician. From her hideout she has called for an invasion of Venezuela.”
The mixed reactions to Machado’s award, both in Venezuela and across the continent, reflect the complicated politics and shifting alliances in the region. The conservative president of Argentina and the leftist leader of Colombia both congratulated Machado. Cuba denounced as “shameful” the decision to honor “a person who instigates military intervention in her Homeland.” Mexico’s leftist President Claudia Sheinbaum, the region’s top woman leader, declined comment.
Some observers wonder whether the award could encourage more aggressive U.S. behavior against Maduro, whom the White House has branded a “narco-terrorist.”
There was no immediate official reaction in Venezuela to Machado’s award. The news generated international headlines, but was ignored by official news channels.
On social media, Machado declared that the opposition was “on the threshold of victory,” and pointedly dispatched verbal bouquets to Trump.
“I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!” Machado wrote.
It was a nod to a president who had campaigned openly for the award for himself, and was clearly indignant that he lost out. The White House complained that the Nobel Committee had chosen “politics over peace.”
In an apparent bid at conciliation, Machado reached out by telephone to Trump.
“The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called today, called me, and said, ‘I’m accepting this in honor of you, because you really deserved it,’” Trump said Friday in the Oval Office. “It’s a very nice thing to do. I didn’t say, ‘Then give it to me,’ though I think she might have. She was very nice.”
While extolled by supporters as Venezuela’s “dama de hierro” — the iron lady, a sobriquet bestowed decades ago on British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — Machado is a controversial figure, even within the Venezuelan opposition. Critics assail her unequivocal praise for Trump and his policies — and her refusal to renounce potential military intervention in Venezuela.
Whether the prize will affect Washington’s evolving policy on Venezuela remains unclear. Though the U.S. raised a bounty on Maduro’s head to $50 million, Washington and Caracas are still cooperating on several levels: Venezuela has been accepting deportees from the United States, and the Trump administration allows U.S. oil giant Chevron to operate in the country.
“I think the U.S. is still where it was before,” said Geoff Ramsey, a Venezuela analyst with the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank. “Ultimately, Washington’s policy towards Venezuela is at a crossroads. The White House needs to decide whether it wants to escalate military strikes, engage directly with Caracas, or simply declare victory and move on.”
Machado has said that her political movement is prepared to take over should Maduro fall, and has a plan for the first 100 days of a transition.
In selecting Machado, the Norwegian Nobel Committee cited “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
The specifics behind Nobel deliberations remain secret. But one line of speculation held that Machado was picked in part because she would be acceptable to the White House, perhaps tempering Trump’s annoyance at not winning the prize.
Machado, 58, is conservative and openly advocates for regime change in a government that is in Washington’s crosshairs.
Still, Machado “has a legitimate cause behind her, and the prize means a lot to Venezuelans who have committed to democracy in an authoritarian context,” said Laura Cristina Dib, Venezuela analyst for the Washington Office on Latin America, a research and advocacy group.
Amid widespread allegations of fraud, Maduro claimed victory at the ballot box in July 2024, but refused to present definitive data backing his claim. According to the opposition, the candidate backed by Machado, Edmundo González Urrutia, was robbed of the presidency. Washington recognizes him as the winner.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado and the opposition’s presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia at a news in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 25, 2024, a month before that year’s presidential election.
(Cristian Hernandez / Associated Press)
On Friday, Machado declined to answer when asked by the Spanish daily El País if she ruled out a U.S. military incursion in Venezuela. Governments, she said, must make a choice: “To be with the people of Venezuela or with a narco-terrorist cartel.”
In a recent appearance on Fox News, Machado didn’t object to the Trump administration policy of blowing up suspected drug-ferrying boats in international waters off the coast of Venezuela — attacks that have left 21 people dead and that human rights activists assailed as extrajudicial killings.
In her Fox guest slot, Machado echoed White House talking points. “Maduro has turned Venezuela into the biggest national security threat to the U.S. and the stability of the region,” she said.
In addition, Machado has failed to condemn Trump’s controversial immigration policies, including the deportation in March of more than 200 Venezuelan nationals to a prison in El Salvador, a move denounced by human rights activists — and by Maduro — as illegal.
Machado has also not weighed in on Trump’s plan to end protected status for more than 500,000 Venezuelans in the United States, a move that could lead to their deportations.
One hope, said Dib, is that “giving her the award is a way to hold her to a higher standard of trying to achieve a democratic transition.”
The award resonated with many in Florida — home to the largest Venezuelan population in the United States — where both Republican and Democratic leaders praised Machado.
Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (R-Fla.) called her the “world’s bravest freedom fighter,” adding: “Maria Corina inspired us all and dedicated her win to President Trump — the strongest ally the Venezuelan people have ever had.”
But some worried that Trump supporters, enraged at a perceived snub, could hold the award against Venezuelans in the United States.
“We were already being criminalized and singled out,” said Maria Puerta Riera, a Venezuelan-American political science professor in Orlando and Colorado. “This is not going to help our image.”
Special correspondent Mogollón reported from Caracas, Times staff writers McDonnell and Linthicum from Mexico City and Times staff writer Ceballos from Washington. Times staff writer Andrea Castillo in Washington contributed to this report.
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Mery Mogollon, Patrick J. McDonnell, Kate Linthicum, Ana Ceballos
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado waves a national flag during a protest called by the opposition on the eve of the presidential inauguration, in Caracas on January 9, 2025. Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP) (Photo by JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images)
JUAN BARRETO
AFP via Getty Images
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her “tireless work promoting the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people” and her “struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Friday.
The decision places Machado—long the face of Venezuela’s democratic movement—among the ranks of global icons such as Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi, leaders who have challenged autocratic rule at extraordinary personal cost.
“The Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 goes to a brave and committed champion of peace—a woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness,” the committee said while announcing its decision. Machado “is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
The committee described Machado as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civic courage in Latin America in recent times,” emphasizing that she has shown how “the tools of democracy are also those of peace.” It credited her with uniting a once-fractured opposition around a common goal: free elections and representative government.
Jorgen Watne Frydnes, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, holds his smartphone with a photo of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway, on October 10, 2025. (Photo by Rodrigo Freitas / NTB / AFP) / Norway OUT (Photo by RODRIGO FREITAS/NTB/AFP via Getty Images) RODRIGO FREITAS NTB/AFP via Getty Images
The honor comes as Machado’s whereabouts remain in hiding in Venezuela for security reasons. Supporters say she continues to operate from within the Latin American nation despite arrest warrants and government accusations that she is conspiring to destabilize the country.
In an op-ed published last year in The Wall Street Journal, titled “I Can Prove That Maduro Got Trounced,” Machado revealed she was in hiding and feared for her life.
“I write this from hiding, fearing for my life, my freedom, and that of my fellow countrymen under the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro,” she wrote. “Mr. Maduro did not win the Venezuelan presidential election…. He lost by a landslide to Edmundo González, 67% to 30%. I know this to be true because I can prove it.”
Her column came just days after Venezuela’s electoral authority—controlled by Maduro loyalists—declared the president re-elected with 51% of the vote, triggering widespread protests across the country.
Machado and her team claim to possess receipts from more than 80% of the country’s polling stations, which they say confirmed that opposition candidate Edmundo González won by a wide margin. The regime has so far failed to release the official vote records.
As the disputed results reverberated across Venezuela, the Maduro government launched one of its most severe crackdowns in years. Human rights groups report that at least 2,000 people have been arrested, with dozens confirmed dead and hundreds injured in clashes with security forces.
Machado’s political journey has been marked by both perseverance and persecution. Once a member of Venezuela’s National Assembly, she rose to prominence as a fierce critic of Hugo Chávez and later Nicolás Maduro.
Her popularity surged after she won the 2023 opposition primary with 93% of the vote, positioning her as the clear challenger to Maduro ahead of the 2024 presidential election. But the government swiftly disqualified her from holding public office, citing spurious administrative charges.
Unable to run, Machado threw her support behind González—a former diplomat—whose candidacy she helped unify across Venezuela’s fragmented opposition. Her endorsement proved decisive.
Polls and independent observers indicate that González likely won nearly 70% of the vote—a result recognized by the United States, the European Union, and multiple Latin American governments.
After the disputed election, González fled into exile, while Machado remained behind, going underground as the government rounded up opposition activists, journalists, and protesters.
Human rights groups estimate that more than 2,400 people have been arrested since July, with at least 28 confirmed dead during the demonstrations. Some victims, according to activists, were tortured to death in custody.
This week’s Nobel announcement caps a series of international tributes to Machado’s defiance and moral authority.
In April, she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2025, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio contributing a glowing tribute, calling her “a beacon of hope.”
“A woman of faith who valiantly marches the streets of her homeland armed with the holy rosary and supported by countless courageous Venezuelans, Machado has stood firm against it all,” Rubio wrote. “Her principled leadership is making our region and our world a better place.”
Rubio described her as “the Venezuelan Iron Lady,” praising her resilience and patriotism.
Galardonado periodista con más de 30 años de experiencia, especializado en la cobertura de temas sobre Venezuela. Amante de la historia y la literatura.
MEXICO CITY — U.S. military forces will not strike Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum vowed Friday in response to reports that President Trump has secretly directed the Pentagon to take action against Latin American drug cartels.
“There will be no invasion: That is rejected, absolutely rejected,” an emphatic Sheinbaum told reporters at her regular morning news conference. “The United States is not going to come to Mexico with troops.”
The media accounts, originating in the New York Times, revived nationalist fears in a nation that has endured U.S. invasions and land grabs over the years — though none in more than a century.
Sheinbaum said Mexico had been informed that Trump was issuing such an order, but “it has nothing to do with Mexican territory.”
The Mexican leader repeated her oft-stated mantra that Mexico “cooperates and collaborates” with its northern neighbor on drug trafficking and other bilateral issues, but rejects any U.S. military presence or strikes on Mexican soil.
In May, Sheinbaum said she had rebuffed Trump’s offer — made in one of many telephone calls between the two leaders — of direct U.S. military assistance.
“We can share information, but we will never accept the presence of the United States Army on our territory,” Sheinbaum said she told Trump in May. “Our territory is inalienable; sovereignty is inalienable.”
It’s unclear which countries might be a target for a U.S. operation, but in an interview Thursday with on the Eternal Word Television Network, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that, aside from Mexico, there are cartels in Venezuela, Guatemala and Ecuador.
Rubio said cartels were no longer just a law enforcement issue, but a national security issue. “We cannot continue to just treat these guys as local street gangs,” he said. “They have weaponry that looks like what terrorists, in some cases armies, have.”
In Mexico, fears that U.S. forces may strike Mexican territory have been growing since the Trump administration formally labeled six Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Many in Mexico view the designation as a prelude to unilateral Pentagon attacks on purported cartel targets.
Trump has been complimentary of Sheinbaum but has denounced what he alleges is an “intolerable alliance” between Mexico’s government and organized crime.
Sheinbaum has rejected U.S. claims that organized crime permeates Mexico’s government and controls vast swaths of Mexican territory.
Trump has already imposed 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico — Washington’s leading trading partner — which he says is aimed at forcing authorities here to do more to curb the trafficking of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid blamed for tens of thousands of deaths in the United States.
The Trump administration has also ramped up U.S. surveillance flights over and near Mexican territory and has massed U.S. troops on the southwestern border in an effort to crack down on drug smuggling and unauthorized immigration.
But Mexico is not the only nation where the Pentagon might consider striking drug cartels. Venezuela could also find itself in U.S. military crosshairs as Washington amps up its saber-rattling against the South American nation.
On Thursday the Trump administration said it was doubling its existing reward — to $50 million — for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a longtime adversary who faces drug-trafficking charges in the United States.
The U.S. State Department calls Maduro a “leader” of the Venezuelan-based Cartel de los Soles, which the Trump administration has labeled a terrorist group.
Washington also accused Maduro of links to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, which is among the crime syndicates the administration has labeled a foreign terrorist organization.
On Friday, Sheinbaum told reporters that Mexican authorities had seen no evidence connecting Maduro to the Sinaloa mob.
Venezuelan authorities dismissed the U.S. charges against Maduro as “political propaganda.”
Maduro returned to office in January after declaring victory in a 2024 election that critics called rigged and was widely rejected by the international community. Washington does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s president.
Special correspondent Cecilia Sánchez Vidal contributed to this report.
