Wars 2026 01/03 USA War with Venezuela

Egyptian · Nov 14, 2025

Venezuela’s military is unlikely to be able to match US aggression. But President Maduro has other options, say experts.
Venezuela on Tuesday announced what it called a major nationwide military deployment in response to the presence of growing United States naval forces off its coast.

On Thursday, the US also unveiled an operation, called Southern Spear, which it said was intended to target “narco-terrorists” in the Western Hemisphere.

The escalation has raised alarm in Caracas, where officials worry the US may be using these operations as a pretext to force President Nicolas Maduro out of power.

“We tell the American empire not to dare: We are prepared,” Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said on Thursday at an event in Caracas.

But is Venezuela really prepared for a US attack or invasion? What are its military capabilities? And what might be the calculus driving the decisions of US President Donald Trump and Maduro, respectively?

INTERACTIVE - US ships in the Carribean sea -OCTOBER 23, 2025-1761237901

What has happened over the past few weeks?

Tensions between Washington and Caracas have been spiralling for weeks, as the Trump administration has hit a series of boats in the Caribbean Sea and, more recently, the Pacific Ocean, claiming they were carrying individuals smuggling narcotics into the US.

The 20th strike took place this week, US officials have said. In all, about 80 people have been killed. The Trump administration has not presented any evidence to back its assertion that the bombed boats had narcotics or drug smugglers on them, or that the vessels were even headed to the US. It has also not offered any legal justification for its actions, which many experts believe violate international law.

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Saif · Dec 23, 2025

Trump says would be 'smart' for Venezuela's Maduro to step down

US President Donald Trump said Monday it would be "smart" for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down, as US naval forces pressed a blockade on the South American country's oil wealth.

en.prothomalo.com

Trump says would be 'smart' for Venezuela's Maduro to step down

AFP Washington
Published: 23 Dec 2025, 12: 58

US President Donald Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Reuters file photo

US President Donald Trump said Monday it would be "smart" for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down, as US naval forces pressed a blockade on the South American country's oil wealth.

Venezuela's key ally Moscow, however, expressed its "full support" for Maduro's government, as Washington has dialed up military operations and threats against Caracas.

Asked by reporters at his Florida home if Washington's threats were designed to force Maduro to leave office after 12 years, Trump said, "That's up to him, what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for him to do that."

But he added, "If he wants to do something -- if he plays tough, it'll be the last time he's ever able to play tough."

Firing back just hours later, Maduro said that Trump would be "better off" if he focused on domestic problems rather than threatening Caracas.

"He would be better off in his own country on economic and social issues, and he would be better off in the world if he took care of his country's affairs," Maduro said in a speech broadcast on public television.

The pledge from Moscow, which is embroiled in the war in Ukraine, came on the eve of a UN Security Council meeting Tuesday to discuss the mounting crisis.

In a phone call, the foreign ministers of the allied nations blasted the US actions, which have included strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats and the seizure of two oil tankers.

A third ship was being pursued, a US official told AFP on Sunday.

"The ministers expressed their deep concern over the escalation of Washington's actions in the Caribbean Sea, which could have serious consequences for the region and threaten international shipping," the Russian foreign ministry said of the call between Sergei Lavrov and Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil.

"The Russian side reaffirmed its full support for and solidarity with the Venezuelan leadership and people in the current context," it added in a statement.

US forces have since September launched strikes on boats that Washington claims, without providing evidence, were trafficking drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean.

More than 100 people have been killed -- some of them fishermen, according to their families and governments.

The latest strike hit a "low-profile vessel" in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one occupant, the US military said on Monday.

Last week, Trump also announced a blockade of "sanctioned oil vessels" sailing to and from Venezuela.

Trump claims Caracas is using oil money to finance "drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping."

Caracas, in turn, fears Washington is seeking regime change, and has accused Washington of "international piracy."

Moscow's statement said Lavrov and Gil agreed in their call to "coordinate their actions on the international stage, particularly at the UN."

Russia and China, another Venezuela ally, backed Caracas's request for a UNSC meeting to discuss what it called "the ongoing US aggression."

Russia's 'hands full'

On Telegram, Venezuela's Gil said he and Lavrov had discussed "the aggressions and flagrant violations of international law being perpetrated in the Caribbean: attacks on vessels, extrajudicial executions, and illicit acts of piracy carried out by the United States government."

Gil said Lavrov had affirmed Moscow's "full support in the face of hostilities against our country."

Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio brushed aside Moscow's stated support for Caracas.

Washington, he said, was "not concerned about an escalation with Russia with regards to Venezuela" as "they have their hands full in Ukraine."

US-Russia relations have soured in recent weeks as Trump has voiced frustration with Moscow over the lack of a resolution to the Ukraine war.

Gil on Monday also read a letter on state TV, signed by Maduro and addressed to UN member nations, warning the US blockade "will affect the supply of oil and energy" globally.

Saif · Friday at 8:36 PM

Is the Trump administration committing war crimes in Venezuela?

The US Navy’s Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group sails towards the Caribbean Sea, escorted by F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and a US Air Force B-52 , in the Atlantic Ocean on November 13, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS

Since September last year, the Trump administration has taken a hard line against Venezuela's Maduro government. Without any provocation, US fighter jets have been regularly firing missiles at fishing boats suspected of transporting drugs in the Caribbean Sea and in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing around 100 people in several dozens of strikes, according to the BBC. In none of these cases has the administration provided any evidence of alleged drug trafficking by Venezuelans.

One particular incident that has aroused international attention happened on September 2, when the US military targeted a boat in the Caribbean. The first strike killed nine individuals on the ship, and a second follow-on attack killed two survivors. Videos show the two survivors clinging to a capsized lifeboat and waving their arms to the airmen flying overhead. The only rational interpretation of the action of these unarmed sailors was that they were calling for help or trying to wave off another strike.

The shock and outrage generated by this news, first reported by The New York Times, has reverberated throughout the globe. One needs to ask if the US military committed war crimes by killing innocent and helpless fishermen. The US Congress and the international community need to investigate and answer why powerful nations can get away with such violations of human rights law.

A brief history of the conflict between the US and Venezuela is in order. The US has been pushing back against imported drugs and foreign drug cartels for many years. Since Trump took office in January, he has targeted Venezuela and its leader, Nicolás Maduro. While the administration has cited its war against drugs as the excuse for this obvious transgression, Trump has not been shy to voice his grudge against the leftist regime in Caracas. Fortune magazine, in its latest issue, went further and said, "Everything the Trump administration is doing in Venezuela involves oil and regime change." In other words, the military actions are not really about drugs but about stealing Venezuela's natural resources.

The September 2 attack on two survivors finally got the US Congress to act and ask some tough questions of the Trump administration. According to the US Constitution, only Congress can declare war against another country. The offensive against the so-called "narco" speedboats is a violation of all international laws and practices. The US Navy is conducting an operation that best resembles the lawlessness that prevailed in the frontier land in the old US West. US media have aptly described the principles guiding the US policy as "might is right" and "shoot first, ask questions later."

From the outset, it was clear that the US Defense Department had embraced a "shoot-before-you-ask" policy in its war against drugs, which resulted in hasty or impulsive actions without fully understanding the situation or considering the consequences. This mentality originates from the Wild West, where law enforcement often acted quickly without careful consideration, often leading to potential mistakes or negative outcomes.

The characterisation of the fishing boats as "drug boats" and identifying humans as "narco-terrorists" are beyond existing norms of international legal principles, and are not a substitute for a lawful process. Michael Kimmage, professor of history at The Catholic University of America, wrote in Foreign Affairs, "Trump's strategy traces multiple contradictions. It celebrates an economic statecraft conducted (if necessary) through military means in the Western Hemisphere … and the selective application of military force."

Also, the second strike against the two survivors, called "double tap," has been unanimously condemned by the media and politicians. Some Democrats and legal experts have argued that a strike to kill shipwrecked survivors could constitute a war crime.

The rules of war, formally known as International Humanitarian Law (IHL), protect persons who are not, or are no longer, directly or actively participating in hostilities, and impose limits on the means and methods of warfare. As mentioned earlier, the two shipwrecked fishermen were not engaged in any combat, and they should have been rescued by the US naval ships in the vicinity.

The Geneva Conventions say shipwrecked persons must be "respected and protected." The Department of Defense Law of War Manual states that helpless, shipwrecked survivors are not lawful targets, while The Hague regulations forbid orders declaring that no quarter will be given.

In short, "double tap" or shooting to kill survivors are war crime. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called the second strike a war crime in an interview with CBS News on December 8.

When pressed by ABC News in the Oval Office with specific questions about accountability and the attack, Trump said, "This is war," although Congress has not authorised war, and the initial strike is still being scrutinised.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the US military during Trump's rule has killed innocent civilians at sea and has tried to cover up these murders. The New York Times recently reported that in 2019, during the first Trump administration, the US Navy killed three North Korean fishermen when they were found witnessing a secret American SEAL team off the coast of North Korea.

Jonathan Blitzer offered a scathing critique of current US policy: 'Because the President had labelled several drug cartels "terrorist organisations" in a series of executive orders, the government simply asserted that suspected traffickers were "unlawful combatants" who could be summarily killed.' (The New Yorker, December 7, 2025).

The US government must be held accountable for innocent deaths, and the G7 countries and the UN bodies must voice their concerns without delay. While the State Department justifies the escalation of tension and random attacks against a peaceful Latin American country in the name of preventing drug trafficking, experts point out that the US administration is setting a bad example. Russia, China, and Israel now have a roadmap to attack their neighbours and cover up their territorial ambitions with one pretext or the other.

Dr Abdullah Shibli is an economist working at a non-profit fiscal intermediary. He previously worked for the World Bank and Harvard University.

Afhan · 2026-01-03T01:37:21-0500

Explosions have been heard and plumes of smoke are rising in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, according to an Al Jazeera correspondent there, amid spiralling tensions with the United States.

The Reuters news agency also reports loud ‍noises were being ⁠heard in Caracas in the ‍early hours ⁠of Saturday morning, according to ‌witnesses.

The southern area of ‌the ‌city, ⁠near a major military ‌base, was reportedly without electricity.

The U.S. military action against Venezuela on January 3, 2026 is officially described as part of a broader campaign called Operation Southern Spear. Wikipedia

According to Wikipedia and multiple contemporary reports, the strikes on Venezuela on 3 January 2026 were carried out as part of a U.S. military campaign known as Operation Southern Spear. Wikipedia

Operation Southern Spear was an ongoing U.S. military initiative led by U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), originally focused on counter-drug operations and targeting Venezuelan drug trafficking networks in the Caribbean. Wikipedia
The January 3 airstrikes on multiple locations in northern Venezuela, including Caracas, were considered a major escalation in that campaign. Wikipedia

Here’s the confirmed information on the recent U.S. military strikes on Venezuela:

The United States launched significant military strikes against Venezuela on January 3, 2026. Wikipedia

There is a specific Wikipedia article on this event titled “2026 United States strikes in Venezuela”. According to that page:

It describes U.S. airstrikes on multiple locations in northern Venezuela, including Caracas, the capital, as part of a broader escalation of conflict.
The date listed for this attack is 3 January 2026.
It notes that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was claimed by the U.S. (via Trump) to have been captured and flown out of the country during the strikes. Wikipedia

Here is the link to the Wikipedia page:

2026 United States strikes in Venezuela (Wikipedia)

These reputable news outlets reported on the attacks and related developments:

Al Jazeera reports explosions heard over Caracas and other areas of Venezuela amid U.S.-Venezuela tensions and that the Venezuelan government condemned them as military aggression. Al Jazeera
Reuters confirms that the Venezuelan government said the attacks hit multiple locations, leading Maduro to declare a national emergency. Reuters
CBS News reports that President Trump ordered the strikes early Saturday morning and included claims about Maduro’s capture. CBS News
Time Magazine likewise describes the U.S. launching military strikes on Venezuela early on January 3, 2026 as part of escalating U.S. pressure