Trump has been planning a military attack on Venezuela for days
Despite his campaign promises to end endless wars and regime-change campaigns, Donald Trump's administration appears to be considering a series of military attacks in Venezuela, with the White House having compiled a list of potential strategic targets. The options being discussed include seizing oil fields or ousting President Nicolás Maduro.
According to a New York Times report, high-ranking government officials are analyzing the risks involved in these actions. At the same time, the Department of Justice is examining legal justifications for these military options, aiming to justify the president's unilateral action without congressional approval for the use of military force.
According to Times sources, the legal justifications will likely be based on the charge that Maduro and senior officials are collaborating with the Cartel de los Soles, which the Trump administration has designated a "narco-terrorist" organization. Under this pretext, the Department of Justice could deem Maduro a legitimate military target, bypassing US prohibitions on the assassination of foreign leaders.
Regime change
The pursuit of regime change in Venezuela, with intense intervention in the country, appears to have found one of its biggest supporters in Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a long-time foreign policy "hardliner." His appointment by Trump had caused concern among non-interventionist supporters, as Rubio is known for his backing of military interventions. Along with Homeland Security Advisor, Stephen Miller, Rubio is pushing for Maduro's removal, according to the Times.
Selective attacks
In the last two months, the US has conducted 16 aerial attacks on vessels near Venezuela, which the Trump administration claims were transporting drugs to the US. Critic and Senator Rand Paul states that the vessels did not have the range to carry out such a mission. According to reports, 67 people have been killed in the attacks.
According to the Times, the new military options being considered include:
- Airstrikes against military installations to weaken Maduro's support from the country's armed forces. Opponents of this option argue that such attacks might strengthen the military's relationship with Maduro.
- The use of elite units such as Delta Force or SEAL Team 6 to capture or exterminate Maduro himself.
- Corresponding counter-terrorism operations to seize oil fields and related infrastructure, as well as airports.
Trump's fears
Trump himself is reportedly less enthusiastic about an escalation, with his fears stemming from two main factors: the risk to the lives of American soldiers and the fear of failure, which would be humiliating. His rhetoric on Venezuela has shifted in recent weeks—from suggesting in October that US military involvement could escalate from the elimination of suspected drug traffickers on boats, to strikes on land targets, to his statement this week in an interview on 60 Minutes that he doubts whether the US is heading towards war with Venezuela.
"I doubt it," he specifically stated. "I don’t think so, but they have treated us very badly, not just on the drugs — they have thrown hundreds of thousands of people into our country that we didn’t want."
Last week, The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon is assembling forces in the southern Caribbean, with 10,000 soldiers and Marines, as well as 6,000 sailors, along with eight Navy ships, a special forces ship, and an attack submarine. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is heading to the area, along with three more ships. Marines conducted landing exercises in Puerto Rico over the weekend and engineers renovated the Roosevelt Roads naval base there.
The "eye" of Russia
Russia, for its part, is closely watching the situation in Venezuela, which possesses the world's largest crude oil reserves and is more than twice the size of Iraq. Maduro is reported to have requested military assistance from Moscow. It is unclear whether Russia — which already has several fronts with the war in Ukraine — intends to bolster Venezuela's defenses. Supplying arms to a country within the US sphere of influence could serve as a counterbalance to Western involvement in Ukraine. Meanwhile, as the Trump White House works on its new regime change campaign, we are reminded of Tom Woods' famous phrase: "It doesn’t matter who you vote for, you get John McCain."
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