U.S. vs Venezuela: How a Long Pressure Campaign Led to a Dramatic Showdown
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela reached a new high on Saturday after a dramatic raid in which President Donald Trump said U.S. forces captured Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro. The operation followed months of sharp warnings, accusations, and military moves by Washington.
The Trump administration has accused Mr. Maduro of drug smuggling, with the U.S. State Department calling him the head of a “narco-terrorist” state. American officials say Mr. Maduro, a self-declared socialist who has ruled Venezuela since 2013, is an illegitimate leader who controls criminal groups linked to drug trafficking. Mr. Maduro has denied all these claims.
The pressure on Mr. Maduro has been building for years through U.S. indictments, economic sanctions, and more recently, military action.
Back in 2020, during Mr. Trump’s first term, Mr. Maduro was indicted in the United States on charges including corruption and drug trafficking. Last year, Washington increased the reward for information leading to his capture to $50 million.
In recent months, senior aides to Mr. Trump stepped up efforts to remove Mr. Maduro from power. At the same time, the administration began framing America’s war on drugs as part of a global fight against terrorism.
Since late August, the Pentagon has moved about a dozen ships into the Caribbean Sea. With more than 15,000 U.S. troops in the region, this is the largest military buildup there since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
The commando raid on Saturday was the most dangerous U.S. military mission of its kind since Navy SEAL Team 6 killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011. It came as part of a legally questionable campaign in waters around Latin America meant to increase pressure on Mr. Maduro.
So far, that campaign has included 35 known U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing at least 115 people. Many legal experts say these strikes are illegal and have killed civilians. While many of the suspected drug runners were believed to be Venezuelans, the boats also carried people from Colombia, Ecuador, and Trinidad.
Unlike past anti-drug missions that focused on major cartel leaders, these strikes targeted low-level drug operatives. By capturing Mr. Maduro, the administration is expected to argue that it has now seized the main figure behind the alleged drug trade.
However, Venezuela is not a major source of drugs for the United States. The country does not produce fentanyl, and the cocaine that passes through Venezuela is grown in Colombia and mostly sent to Europe.
Mr. Trump has also repeatedly threatened land attacks inside Venezuela. Last week, the CIA carried out a drone strike on a Venezuelan port facility believed to be storing narcotics linked to a Venezuelan gang, according to officials familiar with the operation.
The raid to capture Mr. Maduro was another example of Mr. Trump acting without clear approval from Congress. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has been pushing laws to limit his power to launch military action inside Venezuela.
On Saturday, Senator Mike Lee of Utah said Secretary of State Marco Rubio told him that Mr. Maduro had been “arrested by U.S. personnel” and would face criminal charges in the United States.
After Mr. Trump announced the capture, Mr. Rubio reposted an old message on social media, appearing to respond to criticism over the legality of the operation. “Maduro is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government,” Mr. Rubio wrote.
Mr. Lee said Mr. Rubio did not expect further military action in Venezuela now that Mr. Maduro was in U.S. custody.
According to officials, the Trump administration’s Venezuela policy has been guided by three main goals: weakening Mr. Maduro, using military force against drug cartels, and securing access for U.S. companies to Venezuela’s massive oil reserves.
Removing Mr. Maduro from power has been a cause strongly backed by Mr. Rubio.
On July 25, Mr. Trump signed a secret order authorizing military action against drug cartels, including strikes at sea. Officials called the boat attacks “Phase One,” led by SEAL Team 6. They also discussed a possible “Phase Two,” which could have involved land missions by Army Delta Force.
In October, Mr. Trump ended efforts to reach a diplomatic deal with Mr. Maduro after the Venezuelan leader refused to step down voluntarily and continued to deny any involvement in drug trafficking.
As boat strikes continued through the fall, Mr. Trump, Mr. Rubio, and senior White House aide Stephen Miller shifted to the next step: seizing oil tankers to cut off Venezuela’s income.
The administration said Mr. Maduro must return oil and other assets they claimed were “stolen” from the United States before lifting what Mr. Trump has described as a blockade.
In its early weeks, this strategy badly shook Venezuela’s economy and nearly froze its oil industry. Critics described the move as gunboat diplomacy, while Mr. Maduro called it “a warmongering and colonialist pretense.”
