US warships head to Venezuela: Fight against cartels or imperial ambition?

The United States warships are approaching Venezuelan waters successful the confederate Caribbean arsenic portion of President Donald Trump’s effort to combat cause trafficking, reports said.

The Trump medication has accused Venezuela’s left-wing President Nicolas Maduro of being progressive successful cocaine trafficking and moving with cause cartels. On August 7, the US Departments of State and Justice doubled the reward for accusation starring to the apprehension of Maduro to $50m aft accusing him of being “one of the largest narco-traffickers successful the world”.

In response, Maduro has urged millions of Venezuelans to articulation militias, saying, “No empire volition interaction the ineffable ungraded of Venezuela.”

On Monday, the Venezuelan authorities announced that it is sending 15,000 troops to its borderline with Colombia to combat cause trafficking, amid increasing unit from the Trump administration.

So wherefore are the US warships heading to Venezuelan waters, and however is it being seen successful Latin American nations, including Venezuela?

Why is the Trump medication sending navy warships to Venezuelan waters?

Multiple quality reports accidental that the Trump medication has dispatched navy warships to the confederate Caribbean, saying that these missions are intended to antagonistic threats to US nationalist information posed by organisations successful the portion that the US has designated arsenic “narco-terrorist organizations.”

The New York Times reported past period that Trump signed a secret directive ordering the Pentagon to usage subject unit against definite Latin American cause cartels that the US has deemed overseas “terrorist” organisations.

On Monday, the Reuters quality bureau reported that the US ordered further ships to the confederate Caribbean, citing 2 sources acquainted with the deployment.

The sources told Reuters, connected the information of anonymity, that the USS Lake Erie, a guided rocket cruiser and the USS Newport News, a nuclear-powered accelerated onslaught submarine, volition get successful the portion by aboriginal adjacent week.

Last week, aggregate quality agencies reported that 3 US Aegis-class guided rocket destroyers were headed to Venezuelan waters.

According to 2 individuals briefed connected the deployment – who anonymously spoke to Reuters – the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima and USS Fort Lauderdale were headed towards the Venezuelan coast, carrying 4,500 US work members, including 2,200 Marines.

In some the reports, Reuters said that the unnamed sources refrained from disclosing the circumstantial objectives of the deployments but indicated that caller subject movements were intended to code threats to US nationalist information posed by designated “narco-terrorist organizations.”

On August 14, the US Fleet Forces Command published a quality merchandise saying that sailors and Marines assigned to the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group had departed from Norfolk, Virginia and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The quality merchandise does not explicitly authorities details of the ngo oregon specify wherever the radical is being deployed.

The merchandise says, “More than 4,500 Sailors and Marines from the 22nd MEU comprise the unit aboard the ARG’s 3 amphibious ships: flagship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), and the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships USS San Antonio (LPD 17) and USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28).”

Reporters asked White House property caput Karoline Leavitt astir the anticipation of US boots connected the crushed successful Venezuela connected August 19. In response, she said, “President [Donald] Trump has been precise wide and consistent. He’s prepared to usage each constituent of American powerfulness to halt drugs from flooding into our state and to bring those liable to justice.”

Leavitt reiterated that the US does not recognise Maduro’s medication arsenic the morganatic authorities of Venezuela. Maduro won past year’s disputed election. The US and Venezuela person not had a ceremonial diplomatic narration since 2019.

How is Trump cracking down connected cause trafficking?

On his inauguration time connected January 21, Trump signed an enforcement bid designating planetary cause cartels arsenic overseas “terrorist” organisations.

“In definite portions of Mexico, they relation arsenic quasi-governmental entities,” the bid says. Mexico opposed the bid due to the fact that it created the menace of US subject enactment against the country.

In response, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her authorities volition cooperate with the US to combat cause trafficking, but opposed US involution connected Mexico’s territory. “What we importune connected is the defence of our sovereignty and our independence,” she said backmost successful January.

Trump besides accused Canada and Mexico of failing to forestall fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid, from entering the US –  though helium has not furnished impervious for his claims.

After Trump threatened tariffs connected Mexican imports, Sheinbaum deployed 10,000 National Guard troops to the US-Mexico borderline to assistance modulate immigration.

On February 20, the US State Department designated 8 planetary cartels arsenic overseas violent organisations, including Mexico-based Cartel del Golfo, Sinaloa Cartel, Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, Carteles Unidos, La Nueva Familia Michoacana and Cartel del Noreste, California-based Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), and Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua.

Later successful February, Mexico handed implicit 29 cause cartel leaders to the US.

What has the US accused Maduro of?

US officials accused some Maduro and Venezuelan Minister of Popular Power for Interior Diosdado Cabello of collaborating with the Cartel de los Soles (“Cartel of the Suns”), a cause trafficking organisation that Washington has designated arsenic a “terrorist” group. Cabello, similar Maduro, is portion of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

Maduro has rejected the Trump administration’s accusations earlier. The US authorities has not provided immoderate grounds linking Maduro to cause cartels.

The US announced earlier this period that it had doubled the reward for Maduro’s seizure connected cause charges to $50m. In a video connected August 7, US Attorney General Pam Bondi besides accused Maduro of collaborating with the Venezuelan transgression syndicate Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel successful Mexico. “He is 1 of the largest narco-traffickers successful the world,” Bondi said astir Maduro.

Today, @TheJusticeDept and @StateDept are announcing a $50 MILLION REWARD for accusation starring to the apprehension of Nicolás Maduro. pic.twitter.com/D8LNqjS9yk

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) August 7, 2025

Earlier this year, the US besides raised the reward for the apprehension oregon prosecution of Cabello from $10m to $25m.

During Trump’s archetypal word successful 2020, Maduro and his adjacent allies were indicted successful Manhattan national tribunal connected national charges of “narco-terrorism” and conspiracy to import cocaine. Back then, Washington offered a $15mm reward for his arrest. The medication of US President Joe Biden accrued this bounty to $25m.

How has the Venezuelan authorities responded?

On Monday, Cabello announced that Caracas volition nonstop 15,000 troops to fortify information successful the borderline states of Zulia and Tachira, which borderline Colombia.

“Here, we bash combat cause trafficking; here, we bash combat cause cartels connected each fronts,” the curate said, portion besides announcing the seizure of 53 tonnes of drugs truthful acold this year.

Cabello stated that the enhanced information measures on the borderline with Colombia, aimed astatine “combating transgression groups,” volition besides see the deployment of aircraft, drones and riverine security, according to section media outlet Noticias Venevision. Cabello urged Colombian authorities to instrumentality akin steps to “ensure bid on the full axis.”

Referring to the deployment of US warships connected Venezuelan waters, Maduro said, “From the north, the empire has gone huffy and, similar a rotten rehash, has renewed its threats to the bid and stableness of Venezuela,” Caracas-based quality network, Globovision reported.

“We are not fakes nor cause traffickers, and we volition support the dignity of beloved Venezuela,” Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez told a assemblage of subject recruits implicit the weekend.

How person Venezuelan absorption leaders responded?

Opposition fig Marina Corina Machado called Maduro the “head of the Cartel of the Sun,” successful an X station connected Monday. Machado was disqualified weeks earlier past year’s election.

But absorption person Henrique Capriles warned against an enactment of unit against Venezuela. “We firmly explicit our rejection of immoderate enactment of unit against Venezuela, careless of its origin. The sovereignty of our state is ineffable and indispensable beryllium unconditionally respected. The United Nations Charter and International Law intelligibly found that nary State tin onslaught another, arsenic it would effect successful the nonaccomplishment of quality lives,” helium posted connected X.

Capriles, who mislaid to Maduro successful the 2013 statesmanlike election, added that determination bid indispensable beryllium defended.

“The government, presently successful power, has the work to unfastened the doors and make the mechanisms indispensable to forestall our situation from worsening further.”

Juan Guaido, the West-backed interim president betwixt 2019 and 2022, supported the actions taken by the United States against Venezuelan cartels. “The Cartel of the Suns and the Tren de Aragua person already been designated arsenic violent organizations. Their person is not hidden successful the shadows: his sanction is Nicolas Maduro, a dictator liable for this transgression web that drains Venezuela and threatens the full region,” helium posted a connection connected X connected Monday.

What person different Latin American leaders said?

Mexico’s Sheinbaum said earlier this period that her authorities does not person immoderate grounds linking Maduro to the Sinaloa Cartel, which is based successful her state and is named aft the Mexican authorities of Sinaloa.

On the different hand, the bureau of the president of Paraguay, Santiago Pena Palacios, posted a connection connected X connected Friday declaring the “Cartel of the Suns” a overseas violent organisation.