Will the United States Invade Venezuela?

November 18th, 2025
Jack Zhou

Recently, the United States has been ramping up aggression in the Caribbean. Since early September, there have been 20 attacks on boats, killing almost 80 people, that the US claims are smuggling drugs from Venezuela. The goal stated by the US government in these attacks is to stop drug trafficking from South America to the US. That is why on Thursday, October 13, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced “Operation Southern Spear,” the United States’s new plan to remove “narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people.”

Most recently, the US has withdrawn the largest aircraft carrier from the Mediterranean and moved it to the Caribbean. The ship, USS Gerald R. Ford, has a force of around 12,000 military personnel, indicating a huge escalation in Trump’s attack on drugs in the Caribbean. Many analysts suspect that the US could be preparing for a military intervention in Venezuela. When Trump was asked in October whether he was considering attacks within Venezuela, Trump said “no.” Yet things have since changed. In addition to President Trump repeatedly referring to the Venezuelan government as “narco-terrorists,” the president has also stated that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s days as president are numbered. There is even a $50 million bounty for Maduro’s capture as he is said to be the head of the drug cartel “Catel de los Soles.”

In response, President Maduro has prepared a nationwide “massive deployment” of forces to be prepared for a US attack. Nearly 200,000 troops have been deployed throughout the nation. This is especially effective considering that more than 90% of the people in Venezuela reject aggression from the United States. Maduro has effectively framed the attacks from Washington as imperialistic, rallying support against the US.

The US has never had a good history with Nicolas Maduro. Whether that is because of the disputed election results in their last election or the authoritarian regime, President Maduro goes against many US beliefs on democracy and freedom. That is why Trump may decide to invade Venezuela, but that is not the only way to get regime change. Many analysts still believe that Trump’s aggression in the region may simply be a political strategy to pressure Maduro to resign peacefully rather than a full military takeover, or perhaps Trump simply wants to curb the flow of drugs.