La guerre israélo-étatsunienne contre l’Iran présente des caractéristiques importantes pour la Russie, dont l’analyse met en évidence des similitudes avec
Au menu cette semaine: 00:00 Géopolitique profonde 07:30 Économie 16:35 Politico-diplomatique 26:35 Terrorisme 27:38 Armement 31:30 Empire du mensonge 34:30
Dans un article précédent, à propos de ce qui s’est passé en Iran, j’avais pointé l’hypocrisie des belles âmes dont la propagande s’est déchaînée pendant ces quelques jours. Le paroxysme de la crise semble être passé, une forme de calme… Lire la suite →
Au menu cette semaine: 00:00 Géopolitique profonde 04:18 Économie 09:45 Politico-diplomatique 28:00 Terrorisme 33:20 Armement 34:38 Empire du mensonge 36:25
L’AGRESSION AMÉRICAINE DU VENEZUELA Regis de Castelnau & Jean Pierre Page Armé d’un culot invraisemblable, l’Amérique a lancé une opération militaire contre le Venezuela, un État souverain. En enlevant son président et en revendiquant le fait de s’asseoir sur le… Lire la suite →
Nouvelle contribution de l’ami Daniel Arnaud. Français installé en Russie depuis de nombreuses années après avoir également habité l’Ukraine après la chute de l’Union soviétique. Il a collaboré avec notre chaîne YouTube dès son lancement. C’est-à-dire au printemps 2022 afin de… Lire la suite →
Romain Migus, notre Tintin reporter à nous qu’on a, continue son précieux travail. Contrairement à certaines informations il n’est pas basé à Las Dopicos, qui comme chacun sait, est la capitale du San Théodoros. C’est une fausse rumeur. Nouvelle vidéo… Lire la suite →
‘Judging Freedom’ edition of 7 January 2026: Trump’s Maduro “Kidnapping” Is an Impeachable Crime
This session with Judge Andrew Napolitano was a sad start to the New Year, as he stated at both the beginning and end of our conversation. We are in a new world order created by what I call here Trump’s latest deal with the devil to raise his sagging popularity ratings at this critical time when the USA enters the season of midterm elections.
Whereas at the very start of his new term a year ago Trump made some very promising, even daring appointments, as for example Tulsi Gabbard to Director of National Intelligence, and whereas there were some wonderful actions to curb the Deep State, as for example, the virtual shut-down of US AID, the agency which had directed illicit funds to local NGOs and other actors engaging in regime change abroad, it appears that Trump has reversed course and has agreed to work with the power ministries for the sake of pumping up his political capital. Nota bene, that this political capital was surely depleted not just by Trump’s failure to achieve a genuine peace in Gaza, not to mention still less success in ending the Russia-Ukraine War, but most recently depleted when he issued the new National Security Strategy document that upended all of US foreign policy priorities since 1949 and must have raised a hullaballoo on Capitol Hill and within the Republican Party establishment.
The net result is that the CIA, State Department and War Department are now once again running the show, setting the targets for foreign and military policy and executing that policy in ways that are simply astonishing and take your breath away, as happened this past weekend in the U.S. attack on Caracas and kidnapping of President Maduro. What we see again is the hubristic behavior of American officials that we have seen without end since Bush Jr. invaded Iraq in 2003. These people, like Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio, are overconfident in U.S. capability to ‘run Venezuela’ not to mention run the world.
The only thing that can stop this juggernaut is the other two world superpowers, Russia and China. So far both are silent, which does not inspire confidence in where the world is headed.
This interview opens with a discussion of the Coalition of the Willing summit in Paris, which has gathered 35 countries. Host Emmanuel Macron appears to be very satisfied, though surely the value of the exercise is nil. This gathering of losers is negotiating among themselves and have reached consensus on what is essentially a demand for Russian capitulation. Their insistence on a foreign peacekeeping force numbering perhaps 100,000 is an absolute nonstarter with the Russians. But then none of the participants wants the war to end.
Another segment dealt briefly with the latest Israeli violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon that have caused the deaths of hundreds.
We spoke briefly about House Speaker Johnson’s saying that the Trump intervention in Venezuela is NOT an act of regime change, just a measure to correct the behavior of the Venezuelan leadership. This play on words will fool no one and it only shows that American hubris is back with us. The, shall we say, naïve belief that the Venezuelans will accept American overlordship without any resistance will be shattered before long and then all hell will break loose, as it did in Iraq after the capture of Saddam Hussein.
The best segment, in my view, came last when we discussed the treatment of Maduro when he came to the courthouse hearing in chains and was paraded before reporters. As I pointed out, the US has plenty of experience with this particular kind of political theater. I trust the Community will enjoy my comparing Maduro’s court appearance to the way France’s leading candidate for the 2012 French presidential elections. Dominique Strauss-Kahn was dramatically taken off a flight departing NYC for Paris and taken in handcuffs to a Manhattan court, shown off to the reporters on the way, to ensure that his political fortunes were destroyed, all over a phony allegation of sexually abusing a hotel maid. The CIA and FBI staff have lively imaginations for mischief. The removal of Strauss-Kahn resulted in the election of the nitwit Francois Hollande and five wasted years for France.
Je me suis d’abord posé la question de savoir si l’intervention des États-Unis au Venezuela était une invasion. Au lendemain de l’opération de kidnapping du président Maduro, force est de constater que ce n’est manifestement pas une invasion. Invasion militaire… Lire la suite →
The attack on Venezuela and snatching of President Maduro puts an end to my flirtation with Trump. He has just trampled on the National Security Strategy that he rolled out 3 weeks ago. He has proven that the Neocons control the government and he is nothing more than a figurehead.
I call for his impeachment so as to install JD Vance and give him two-three years to do what has to be done, namely to purge the Pentagon, the CIA, State of the Neocons who constitute the decision makers and implementers in the ‘power ministries’. This accomplished, Vance could then hope to carry out the NSS and position the USA as a major world power among peers, rather than a hegemon and Cold Warrior.
For those in the Community who may be puzzled by my turning against Trump, I recommend that they read the first chapter in my 2019 collection of essays entitled A Belgian Perspective on International Affairs: “Time to Impeach Trump,” dated 21 September 2017, pp. 1-4. You may have overlooked this book because its title was explained only in the Foreword, p. xiii: the ‘Belgian’ in question was not a collective part of this small nation that one could disregard until its Prime Minister Bart De Wever stood up to Ursula von der Leyen and Chancellor Friedrich Merz a couple of weeks ago and saved the global financial markets from the catastrophe that would have followed confiscation of Russian state assets held in Belgium. The word ‘Belgian’ in the title stood for one person, me, who had become a naturalized Belgian. My call for impeachment was precipitated by Trump’s barbaric declarations before the UN General Assembly threatening to annihilate North Korea, a nation of 22 million people.
My coddling of Trump’s vile activities in some global hotspots since taking office again, in January 2025, in particular his enabling the Israeli genocide in Gaza, was based on the reasonable assumption that that was the price to pay for him to enjoy the political capital in the heavily pro-Zionist Congress and in the foreign policy establishment in Washington necessary to pass his domestic and foreign policy programs. The same logic persuaded me to remain silent about his attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities and his enabling Israeli strikes on Teheran and other purely civilian targets in their 12-day war.
But the recent months of Trump’s superintending so-called peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine have shown that at best his efforts are incompetent and so are condemned to failure. Holding separate talks with each of the warring parties and agreeing with each side to their entirely contradictory peace plans shows that he is posturing and that nothing of use can come out of these talks. Moreover, no peace agreement that met the Russian demands of resolving the underlying reasons for the war, namely turning back NATO expansion to Russia’s borders and getting Washington to consider revising the security architecture in Europe, will get approval in Congress now that everyone has read about Trump’s hopes to overturn 76 years of American foreign policy priorities by the language of his NSS document.
Accordingly, I view without prejudice and on their merits Trump’s attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife to face trumped up charges of drug trafficking in the USA. And on their merits Trump has egregiously violated international law. Sad to say, he has not set a precedent, but is following a pattern of ‘rogue state’ behavior established by President George H.W. Bush when he invaded Panama in December 1989 and seized president Manuel Noriega. Noriega then spent years in U.S. detention and died there.
Let us remember that ‘rogue state behavior’ was precisely what one of the chief popularizers of Neocon ideology, Robert Kagan, husband of the notorious Victoria Nuland, urged upon the United States in books and speeches. That is to say, scorn for all legal constraints on how foreign policy is conducted for the sake of maintaining U.S. global domination.
The difference between what H.W. Bush did in 1989 and what Trump has just down now in Venezuela must be called out. Bush was just ‘kicking ass,’ as they say in the States. Trump is implementing a farther- reaching geopolitical objective of driving all foreign powers out of the Western Hemisphere, which he seeks to maintain as Washington’s exclusive hunting preserve. To be more specific, Trump has attacked not just Venezuela. He has attacked China which is a main export market for Venezuela; conversely, China is highly dependent on Venezuelan oil and an American take-over would surely cause economic harm to Beijing. In this regard, the warm-up exercise to yesterday’s snatch operation was the U.S. capture of two Venezuelan oil tankers, one of which was carrying oil destined for and already paid for by China.
Going back still further, this American attack on Venezuela is a continuation of the attack on China’s commercial activities in Latin America that we saw still earlier in 2025 when Trump brought pressure on Panama to remove the Chinese from their control over the Canal.
*****
What lessons can the world’s two other superpowers draw from Trump’s outrageous attack on Venezuela?
As for Russia, the message should be crystal clear to President Vladimir Putin that he does not and cannot have a partner in Donald Trump. Russia must proceed on its own path to resolve the Ukraine war, and as I have been saying in recent months, the sooner the war is ended, whether by a decapitation strike on Kiev and other decision-making centers, or by storming Kiev with ground forces, the better. Russia now has a window of opportunity that it should exploit without hesitation. If President Putin is unable to act decisively in this sense, then he should resign and pass the torch to someone in a younger generation who is level-headed, has proven experience at high levels of the government and is decisive, not wishy-washy.
As for China, this attack on Venezuela is de facto an attack on China. Generally, Chairman Xi is more decisive and has more resources to threaten the USA than does Putin and Russia. If ever there were a moment for China to resolve the Taiwan issue it is here and now. The Americans have just stolen Chinese oil and are attacking a major supplier to China. Xi will not straighten out relations with Washington now by remaining silent and failing to respond appropriately. Such reticence will only encourage further provocations and give Washington time to better prepare for armed conflict.
Michael tells what most probably happened with the so-called announcement of action or war against Venezuela. Michael and Richard also explains the National Security Strategy and how it really is intended to work.
Is This the New Shape of War? The Venezuela Precedent***
What defines war today? It is no longer just the sound of artillery or the movement of armies. It has become something quieter and far more patient. Look closely at Venezuela. What you see there is a test, a blueprint for a new kind of conflict. This is a war of pressure and isolation.
Venezuela is the laboratory, and the experiment being run there threatens to become a standard playbook for how powerful nations can force weaker ones to obey. Think about the method. First, the story must be told. A country’s complex reality is simplified:
Here, come up with a drug trafficking BS story. It becomes an easy story of good fighting evil. This story is broadcast everywhere to justify what comes next. It makes the world believe that aggressive action is not aggression at all, but a necessary act of moral duty.
Then the true siege begins. But there are no visible walls. Instead, the blockade is built from financial rules and trade bans. A nation’s economy is slowly strangled. Its money becomes worthless. Food and medicine cannot get in. The goal is clear: make life so unbearable for ordinary people that they will demand change themselves.
The battlefield is the supermarket aisle and the hospital ward. The weapons are inflation and scarcity. Is this not a cruel way to fight?
The final stage is forced surrender. With the country brought to its knees, an ultimatum is delivered. The choices are surrender or more suffering. Give up control of your nation’s wealth. Hand over political power. The message is simple: you cannot refuse. When the survival of your entire society is at stake, how can you say no?
This is the dangerous new model being tested. If it works in Venezuela, what will stop its use elsewhere? Which nation will be next? Old targets like Nicaragua and Cuba would face this new, sharper tool. Even allies might one day feel its sting if they step out of line.
This strategy is clean for those who use it. It is easy to deny. It is brutally effective. Victory is no longer measured in captured land, but in a nation’s broken will.
Venezuela stands as a warning. The world must ask itself a simple question: Is this the future we accept? Is this the new, silent shape of war?
Trump, without hiding it, is supporting his supporters in elections across the region. In Honduras, Trump openly meddled in the election, trying to put a right-wing US puppet in power. The fraud was so blatant, after 2 weeks there is still no winner. The US backed a military coup in Honduras in 2009.
Chevron has just reduced the price of Venezuelan crude for US refineries following the seizure of the oil tanker. Venezuelan oil price fell below US$50 in November as tensions with US rise.
Venezuela announced that it is “immediately terminating any contract or negotiation involving the supply of gas” to Trinidad and Tobago and accuses the government of that island of being involved in the seizure of an oil tanker.
The baseball leagues of Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic announced Monday to the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation (CBPC) that they will not be able to participate in the Caribbean Series Caracas 2026, scheduled from February 1 to 7, citing “external situations” outside their control. They say that Venezuela is perfectly able to stage the series, and this is an external circumstance.
I believe the fishermen do not go fishing, which deprives the Venezuelan people of everyday food.
The US is positioned in the area, its navy like a bully grandpa, aged and demented octopus. They overfly whatever they want to overfly and shoot whatever they want to shoot. I wonder sometimes who instructed whom? In Gaza, the zionists shoot fisherboats and kids on the beach. In Gaza, the Palestinians cannot move in or out. In Gaza, the Palestinians are deprived of food. In Gaza, the genocide continues, and a peace agreement is an attempted appeasement of genocide. If this trend of siege continues, we will see the entry-level picture of another genocide. The cry of ‘Maduro must go’ is the same as Assad must go, and Syria is in travail. It is the same cry that Hamas must go, and Hezbollah must lay down arms. Just as the drug accusations are nonsense, so is the idea that Venezuela will benefit if Maduro goes.
Recently, Catlin Johnstone, recognizing the methodology, said:
UPDATE: Just a while after both Angelo Giuliano and myself recognized the signs of a siege, Ben Norton writes about it as well:
The US military is besieging Venezuela. This is a naval blockade, aimed at starving Venezuela of supplies and preventing it from exporting oil.
The US goal is to "make the economy scream", to cause an economic collapse.
As Washington targets Latin America, with a Monroe Doctrine on steroids, LATAM Nations navigate coercion, alliances, and the quest for a possible yet increasingly difficult, post-hegemonic future. In this episode of Critical Perspectives, Vanessa and I discuss an on-the-ground report from journalist Diego Sequera, who reveals how Venezuelans, navigating Western media hysteria and covert threats, are maintaining normalcy and fortifying national sovereignty through a culture of resilience and everyday resistance.
From the ground in Caracas, the view is one of controlled information. The local media offers a single clear voice, that of President Maduro, while other officials remain silent. This structure suggests he holds the direct line to Washington. Beyond that, certainty is hard to find.
A story is spreading on international news, claiming Maduro is negotiating his surrender and exile. Here, that narrative is widely seen as a psychological operation, a classic pre conflict tactic meant to seed confusion and a sense of inevitable defeat.
Yet, the serious posture of the Venezuelan government indicates that high level talks are probably happening. They are almost certainly not about surrender, but may be focused on preventing a catastrophic escalation.
If that is the case, what could be discussed? Based on the United States government’s aggressive stance, Washington appears to face four deeply problematic options, all stemming from a stalled regime change policy.
The US could simply walk away, but a retreat after years of maximalist rhetoric seems a profound political risk. It could launch a military strike, but such an illegal act risks global condemnation and historic embarrassment if it fails. It could attempt a strangling blockade, a lengthy act of economic war with a high military cost. Or it could order a full invasion, risking a protracted conflict it likely does not want.
Given the severe downsides of each confrontational path, observers are left to speculate about a quieter fifth possibility. A negotiated off ramp built on saving face.
This would follow the recent model seen between the US and Iran. It might involve a pre arranged, symbolic action. A single strike on a low value target. Maduro could then frame himself as the defender who withstood foreign aggression.
A US president could present the action as decisive strength.
No real war would be fought. Both sides could claim a form of resilience. It would offer the US a path to de escalate from a failing policy without an overt admission of defeat.
The notable silence in Caracas, therefore, may not signal weakness. It might reflect the tense quiet of exploratory talks, where the discussion is not about victory, but about whether a mutually acceptable retreat can even be designed. The psyop story of surrender is likely just noise.
The real, hushed conversation could be about finding a face saving exit before it is too late.
This is a really good geopolitical overview and not only about Venezuela, but describing how Venezuela became the fulcrum of change to multipolarity and the start of the end of the Monroe doctrine.
I am not sure if Mearsheimer’s face should be on there, but the content is accurate until one gets to the end, where the video proposes that the US still has the opportunity to rectify its strategic mistakes. I don’t believe so, and so this video is for the good analysis of the process of the fall of empire in the first 3/4.
Venezuela just shattered the unwritten rules of the Western Hemisphere — and Russia made sure the world noticed. In this special geopolitical investigation, we unpack how Russian warships sailed into Venezuelan waters with calm precision — a symbolic strike at two centuries of U.S. dominance in the Caribbean. This wasn’t merely a naval visit. It was a challenge to the Monroe Doctrine itself — the old idea that Washington alone sets the boundaries of power in the Americas.
What the world witnessed wasn’t Russian aggression… It was Russian positioning — a strategic counter-move decades in the making. From NATO’s long eastward push to years of sanctions pressure on Venezuela, we trace how U.S. policies inadvertently drove Caracas deeper into Moscow’s orbit. The result: one of the most consequential geopolitical realignments in the Western Hemisphere since the Cold War.
Backed by verified research, foreign-policy scholarship, and historical context, this episode explores: • why Venezuela became a central arena of U.S. influence after the Cold War, • how sweeping American sanctions punished its economy — but failed to force political change, • how Russia built a slow, deliberate strategic lifeline to Caracas, • why the Caribbean can no longer be assumed to be an uncontested sphere of U.S. influence, • and why the quiet arrival of Russian destroyers signals a new era in hemispheric geopolitics. Told in the analytical spirit of John Mearsheimer, this long-form deep dive links realist theory to modern power struggles — revealing how the cracks in the unipolar world first appeared not in Europe… but in the Caribbean.
Venezuela reaffirms its sovereign right to control its national airspace, citing international law and anti-colonial principles in response to U.S. pressure.
November 29, 2025 Hour: 3:41 pm
Venezuela denounces U.S. airspace threat as illegal colonial aggression, demanding full respect for its sovereign skies under international law.
CARACAS — The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has issued a strong diplomatic condemnation of what it describes as a “colonial-style threat” against its national airspace, calling recent statements by the U.S. presidency an “extravagant, illegal, and unjustified aggression” aimed at undermining Venezuela’s sovereignty.
In an official communiqué released on November 29, 2025, Venezuelan authorities denounced a series of social media posts attributed to the U.S. executive branch that, according to Caracas, seek to impose extraterritorial jurisdiction and exert coercive pressure over Venezuela’s civil aviation and territorial integrity.
“These declarations constitute a hostile, unilateral, and arbitrary act,” the government stated, emphasizing that such rhetoric violates the United Nations Charter, particularly Article 2, paragraph 4, which explicitly prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any state.
The statement further accused Washington of advancing a “permanent policy of aggression” against Latin America and the Caribbean—one rooted in what Venezuela terms “colonial motives”—and warned that such actions endanger regional peace and security.
Venezuela Airspace Sovereignty: Legal Foundations and International Law
Venezuela’s response rests firmly on established international aviation law. The government underscored that its sovereignty over national airspace is unequivocally protected under the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, which has been ratified by 193 countries, including the United States.
Article 1 of the Convention clearly states: “Every State has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory.”
This principle is also upheld by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized UN agency that sets global standards for air navigation, safety, and security. Venezuela stressed that no foreign power—not even the U.S.—has the legal authority to dictate, block, or condition the use of its airspace, especially through unilateral statements on social media.
“We will not accept orders, threats, or interference from any foreign power,” the communiqué declared. “Only Venezuela’s constitutional institutions hold authority over our national skies.”
The rebuke comes after reports that the U.S. pressured international airlines to suspend flights linked to Venezuela’s “Plan Vuelta a la Patria” (Return to the Homeland Plan), a humanitarian program that has repatriated 13,956 Venezuelan citizens via 75 organized flights. These citizens, many stranded abroad due to migration crises, have been received “with love and absolute solidarity,” according to the government.
Geopolitical Context: A Regional Flashpoint with Global Implications
The Venezuela airspace sovereignty dispute is more than a bilateral spat—it reflects a deepening rift between Washington and the emerging multipolar order in Latin America. For decades, the U.S. has treated the Western Hemisphere as its “backyard,” enforcing policies through sanctions, coups, and military presence.
But Venezuela’s defiance—echoed by allies in Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and parts of the Caribbean—signals a growing rejection of U.S. hegemony. By invoking the language of “colonial aggression,” Caracas frames the airspace issue not as a technical dispute but as part of a historical pattern of imperial overreach.
This stance resonates across the Global South, where many nations view U.S. unilateralism as a threat to their own sovereignty. If Washington can declare another country’s airspace “closed” without UN authorization or multilateral consensus, what prevents it from doing the same to nations in Africa, Asia, or the Middle East?
Moreover, the timing is significant. The threat coincides with Venezuela’s deepening strategic ties with Russia, China, and Iran, as well as its leadership in regional blocs like CELAC and ALBA-TCP. For Washington, reasserting control over Venezuelan airspace may be less about security and more about disrupting these alternative alliances.
Critics warn that such actions could destabilize the entire northern South American region, where civilian air traffic—including medical evacuations, cargo flights, and diplomatic missions—relies on predictable and lawful skies.
A Call to the International Community
Venezuela has formally appealed to the United Nations, sovereign governments, and multilateral organizations to “firmly reject” what it calls an “immoral act of aggression.” The government argues that the U.S. move not only endangers Venezuela but also threatens peace and security across the Caribbean and northern South America.
In its communiqué, Caracas vowed to defend its airspace with “dignity, legality, and the full strength granted by international law,” invoking the anti-imperial legacy of Simón Bolívar, the 19th-century liberator whose vision of a united, sovereign Latin America continues to inspire the Bolivarian Revolution.
“This is not just about flights—it’s about the right of a people to exist free from foreign dictates,” said a Caracas-based analyst. “When a superpower tries to control your skies, it’s really trying to control your destiny.”
The Venezuelan government reaffirmed its commitment to full, peaceful, and lawful use of its airspace, while warning that any further interference will be met with all diplomatic and legal measures available under international law.
One of the most common claims about the Trump 45 administration is that “He didn’t start any new wars.”
This is demonstrably FALSE.
During his first term, Trump became the ultimate causal agent for every one of the current conflicts with Russia, China, Iran, and Venezuela.
He not only maintained the trajectory of these conflicts as established by previous US administrations, but he dramatically raised the stakes and quickened the pace of the march to war.
Ukraine
In Ukraine, between 2017 and 2021, the already commenced preparations of #TheMotherOfAllProxyArmies were expanded and accelerated to an unprecedented degree.
Almost two-dozen covert US intelligence bases were established throughout eastern Ukraine. Large numbers of Ukrainian armed forces personnel were rotated through US/NATO training programs. Ukrainian officers were instructed in the use of US/NATO communications and intelligence / surveillance / reconnaissance (ISR) data. A chain of command was established from Kiev to US/NATO headquarters at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. US heavy weaponry was pre-staged in Poland, and preliminary deals were made with former Warsaw Pact countries (many of them now NATO members) to provide legacy Soviet artillery, armor, ammunition, and fighter aircraft to Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops were introduced to the use of Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missiles, M-777 155mm howitzers, and HIMARS Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems.
Some of the legacy Soviet aircraft types in the Ukrainian Air Force were modified to carry and launch US/NATO missiles.
The massive fortification complex in the Donbass region was extended and strengthened.
A few thousand US/NATO “contractors” were integrated into the Ukrainian military – with preference given to the hard-core neo-Nazi brigades, who were considered to be the “elite” units in the AFU.
The strategic focus during the entire Trump 45 administration was to complete the preparation of the Ukrainian military to attack and crush the Russia-leaning separatists in the Donbass, and to then retake Crimea, which the Russians had seized in the aftermath of the 2014 American-led coup d’état in Kiev – and which was formally reassimilated into the Russian Federation as a result of an overwhelming popular referendum vote.
Trump has even bragged about the fact that he was the one who began to arm the Ukrainians to a far greater extent than Obama had ever done.
“I was the one that gave the Javelins. Remember the famous Javelins? That was me. It wasn’t Obama. It wasn’t Biden. It wasn’t anybody else. It was me. And they wiped out a lot of tanks with those Javelins. The expression was, ‘Obama gave sheets’. And I gave Javelins. That was a big deal at the time. That was at the beginning, when people said, ‘Wow, that’s something!’ Well, that was American equipment. Without American equipment, this war would have been over very quickly.”
President Donald J. Trump, Oval Office News Conference, February 26, 2025
Here is the full video clip from which the quote above is taken:
This is the irrefutable fact: the Trump 45 administration both hastened and made inevitable the war whose final fuse was lit in early February 2022 when the Ukrainians commenced a broad-front artillery escalation against what they claimed to be Donbass militia positions, but which were indistinguishable from random civilian targets.
All of these factors combined compelled the Russians to move decisively (and sooner than they wanted) to extend their strategic depth in the region.
All those who claim Trump has no culpability for the war in Ukraine are either ignorant of the abundant objective facts, or in denial thereof.
Several prominent geopolitical voices were raising the alarm about war in Ukraine even before Victoria Nuland, John McCain, Lindsey Graham et al. goose-stepped through the streets of conquered Kiev in 2014.
Victoria Nuland in Kiev, February 2014
And all during the civil war that then ensued, until the Russians intervened in late February 2022, US/NATO intelligence and special forces operatives were active in Ukraine, in support of the Kiev government’s military movements in the Donbass.
The crisis became increasingly acute over the course of the first Trump administration, even as the twin objectives of subduing the Donbass and retaking Crimea became increasingly apparent.
Ukraine has two options: accept its role as a buffer state, or be dismembered. If the US goads them into an attempt to subjugate the Donbass, Russia will slice away eastern Ukraine and assimilate it — and there is *nothing* the US can do to prevent it.
Fact is, the big geostrategic nation-state wars are always decades in the making. So it was in the case of the war in Ukraine.
But the unavoidable trajectory of war was set in stone during Donald Trump’s FIRST rodeo in the White House. Trump owns the Ukraine War more than Joe Biden’s Autopen. At least Trump laid claim to a modest degree of cogency in his first term.
The apparition of Joe Biden, dazed and confused, simply watched dumbfounded as long-fated events flashed before his empty eyes.
China
One of Trump’s first actions after he was inaugurated in 2017 was to announce a sale to Taiwan of Harpoon anti-ship missiles, SM-2 and SM-3 naval air defense missiles, MK-48 torpedoes, and advanced radar systems.
In 2019, to much fanfare, Trump announced the sale to Taiwan of 66 F-16V fighters.
F-16V Fighter – Taiwan
In 2020, Trump announced the sale of even more Harpoon ASMs, HIMARS systems, and MQ-9B drones.
Trump also, over the course of his first term, sent a total of about 300 US Army and Marine special forces operators to Taiwan. Since Trump’s second term began, that number has been increased to over 500 – including substantial contingents on Penghu and Kinmen Island, which is just six miles from the Chinese coast.
Kinmen and Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait
This permanent basing of a full battalion of US troops in Taiwan was unprecedented prior to Trump’s first term. And, understandably, it is regarded by China as an unprecedented provocation. Consequently, Chinese preparations for a possible war in and around its home seas have greatly accelerated.
And, in what is arguably his most strategically ill-advised move of all, Trump 45 started the trade and rhetoric war with China that continues to the present day.
There are now even widespread rumors that the US Department of War is preparing a naval blockade of energy imports into China — an act of utter madness.
IRAN
Trump, in concert with the Israelis, started the major war with Iran that continues to this day — albeit currently in one of its typical intermissions.
In what I consider to have been the most brazen act of war in his first administration, Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, on January 3, 2020, at the Baghdad airport.
Iranian General Qasem Soleimani
Soleimani was on a diplomatic mission to Baghdad at the invitation of Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, who had been acting as the intermediary between the Saudis and the Iranians, who were working to de-escalate drone and missile attacks by Iraqi militias against American bases in Iraq, and the Green Zone in Baghdad.
Soleimani was traveling to deliver Iran’s official response to a Saudi Arabian mediation proposal.
On December 31, 2019, ostensibly in support of these Saudi-Iranian moves to defuse the situation in Iraq, President Trump made a personal call to Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi. The Iraqi leader then called Soleimani to arrange a meeting in the Green Zone in Baghdad, scheduled for the morning of January 3, 2020.
Soleimani and his small entourage traveled openly on a commercial flight, and were met at the airport by Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and a few other Iraqis. As Soleimani, al-Muhandis, and eight others were traveling from the airport to the Green Zone in two vehicles, an American MQ-9 Reaper drone fired Hellfire missiles and blew them all to smithereens.
President Trump directly ordered the attack, and afterwards publicly gloried in his perfidy.
Soleimani was considered a national hero in Iran, and was arguably the second-most powerful and influential political figure in Iran at the time, behind only the Ayatollah Khamenei.
The Iranians were justifiably outraged.
On January 8, 2020, Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against the American Ayn al-Asad airbase in Iraq. About 15 Iranian ballistic missiles targeted the base with shockingly impressive accuracy, although it was clear the strike was mostly demonstrative in nature, and the Iranians deliberately avoided killing US troops.
Even so, the potency of the strike clearly astounded both the Americans and the Israelis, and resulted in a diminution of both US and Israeli strikes against Iranian targets until April 1, 2024, when the Israelis killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers in a missile strike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus.
Two weeks later (April 13-14, 2024), the Iranians launched a massive and unprecedented missile strike against Israel. This then led directly to the series of exchanges between Israel and Iran which took place over the course of the ensuing months, culminating in the so-called 12-Day War between the US/Israel and Iran from June 13-24, 2025.
Of course, it must be understood that this war between the US/Israel and Iran is NOT over yet. It is just on a brief hiatus, and there are indications in recent days that Israel is planning new strikes against Iran.
But make no mistake, the catalyzing event for this greatly escalated war with Iran was Trump’s treacherous murder of Qasem Soleimani on January 3, 2020.
VENEZUELA
Trump began publicly expressing his desire to go to war against Venezuela, and to seize its oil, no later than July 2017. It became a recurring theme for him, ultimately resulting in the failed 2019 coup d’état against Nicolas Maduró, when the US attempted to install clown puppet Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s leader.
“I don’t understand why we’re not looking at Venezuela. Why are we not at war with Venezuela?”
“That’s the country we should be going to war with. They have all that oil and they’re right on our back door.”
Trump’s bellicose language towards Venezuela continued all through his first term, and as a result, Venezuela’s longstanding friends Russia, China, and Iran began to more aggressively strengthen Venezuela’s military capabilities in anticipation of an eventual US attack and potential invasion of the South American country that holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world.
Now, as I write here on Thanksgiving Day 2025, the United States has positioned a massive naval fleet and Marine landing force off the coast of Venezuela, and it appears almost certain that military operations against the Maduro regime will commence imminently, with the overt aim of installing a new puppet government whose putative leader, CIA-groomed Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, has explicitly called for an American invasion of the Bolivarian Republic, and pledged to permit the US to take control of Venezuela’s oil, gold, and other mineral wealth.
María Corina Machado
SOUTHCOM has even provided a slick promotional video for the upcoming war against Venezuela:
Peace through strength:
Carrier Strike Group Twelve is making a powerful impact in the #SOUTHCOM region—standing strong to deter illicit networks, disrupt transnational threats, protect the Caribbean, and defend our homeland with purpose and presence. @CVN78_GRFord@USNavypic.twitter.com/LTEt3iFB1v
Trump, consumed by his own lust to become a celebrated recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, has been claiming for months now to have ended no fewer than eight imaginary wars.
In reality, President Donald J. Trump has exhibited one of the most itchy trigger fingers of any US president in my lifetime (Eisenhower was still president when I was born).
Incredibly, he has chosen to pick fights with the most powerful adversaries the US has faced since the Second World War: Russia, China, and Iran. And, worst of all, he has catalyzed the formation of an unbeatable military and economic alliance between those three ascendant civilizational powers, even as American military power has eroded to its post-WW2 nadir.
Of course, most Americans possess a knowledge and understanding of war and US military might as it has been portrayed for decades in Hollywood movies and video games. And therefore, when Trump waxes grandiloquent about the United States being the greatest military force in human history, American vanity is easily persuaded that there is no nation on earth the US cannot trample underfoot with one hand tied behind its back.
Neither Donald Trump nor many Americans realize there are no easy wars left to fight. But that sobering truth will be laid bare for all to see between now and the end of the final term of The Imaginary Peace President.
Venezuelans have a “true sense of belonging to a project worth saving.. This is a project of collective self-emancipation. .. Those who are committed to the Bolivarian revolution assume themselves as subjects of transformation, not as victims. And this is something to be reckoned with.”
Video Description:
“I’m joined by Cira Pasqual Marquina, author and educator at the Pluriversidad Patria Grande and co-host with Chris Gilbert of the Marxist education program and podcast Escuela de Cuadros.
I ask her:
how are Venezuelans seeing this buildup?
What is the analysis of the regional context?
Why is the US doing this now?
What the Venezuelan revolution is really about
And some speculations for the “day after” the US attack happens”
The Imperialist Offensive is Nothing New for the Bolivarian Revolution’: A Conversation with Ana Maldonado
A Chavista organizer examines the US militarization of the Caribbean and the Bolivarian Revolution’s enduring resistance to imperial aggression.
In recent months, Washington has stepped up its military presence in the Caribbean, sending warships, aircraft, and even a nuclear submarine to waters near Venezuela amid extrajudicial attacks on fishing vessels. For many, this new phase of aggression is all too familiar — part of a decades-long campaign of hybrid warfare designed to undermine Venezuela’s sovereignty.
In this context, Cira Pascual Marquina spoke with Ana Maldonado, a sociologist, international relations coordinator for the Francisco de Miranda Front—a national Chavista movement—and member of the Venezuelan chapter of ALBA Movements. In this interview, Maldonado offers her perspective on how Venezuelans are experiencing the latest imperialist escalation, reflects on the country’s long resistance to hybrid war, and situates the current threat within the broader struggle for sovereignty in Latin America and the Caribbean.
How are the Venezuelan people experiencing this new imperialist escalation?
President Nicolás Maduro has said that in this scenario of maximum pressure, our response must be maximum preparation. At the same time, he has called on us to combine vigilance with calm, to continue our daily lives, and to defend the peace with social justice that has cost us so much to build and preserve.
You can see this clearly in the fact that, even amid the current military escalation, the new school year began normally across the country. More than 20,000 educational institutions opened their doors without disruption, and over six million children and youth returned to class, as they do every year around this time.
While we are indeed facing a serious threat of war, people are also carrying on with their everyday lives and that, in itself, is a victory, since the enemy seeks precisely to disrupt our life.
People abroad are often surprised to learn that daily routines here continue undisturbed and that Venezuelans are not living in a state of panic. How do you explain this?
This is far from our first encounter with imperialist aggression. The tactics may shift, but the strategy remains unchanged: hybrid warfare. For years, US imperialism and its allies have waged a relentless campaign against Venezuela, beginning in earnest in April 2002 with the coup d’état and the people’s heroic counteroffensive that restored democracy. That was followed by the oil sabotage, mercenary incursions, and global media campaigns against our democracy.
After Comandante Chávez passed in 2013, a new and sustained period of aggression began. Initially, they bet that we would fail to hold peaceful elections or that President Maduro would never be elected. The dominant narrative was “Maduro is not Chávez.” With that simplistic argument, they sought to demoralize the Chavista social base, implying that the Bolivarian project would not withstand the loss of the Comandante. Yet we won the elections and, even as we mourned Chávez, the project continued.
But the US and their local agents were determined not to let us go on with our revolution. In 2014, the opposition launched a violent campaign called “La Salida” [The Exit], led by Voluntad Popular and María Corina Machado, the same factions now openly calling for foreign intervention. The following year, the United States took another war-like step: Obama’s 2015 executive order declaring Venezuela an “unusual and extraordinary threat.”
That decree was followed by the 2016 economic strangulation, marked by deliberate shortages aimed at making everyday life unbearable. Ten years later, we remain under a blockade that has killed tens of thousands.
In 2017, the most extreme factions of the opposition returned to the streets with fascist violence, committing atrocities such as the burning alive of a young Black man, Orlando Figuera, targeted simply for looking like a Chavista. More than 100 people were killed during this period of intensified fascist terror.
President Maduro responded by calling for a National Constituent Assembly, once again raising the banner of peace and democracy in the face of fascist violence. People from all sectors, including residents of middle-class neighborhoods whose polling centers had been attacked, were able to vote in peace at the Poliedro de Caracas.
Since then, we’ve lived through multiple phases of hybrid war: Juan Guaidó’s self-proclamation as “interim president” in 2019 and the “Battle of the Bridges,” when the opposition attempted to stage a false-flag operation on the Colombian border under the guise of a humanitarian aid effort. That was followed by massive blackouts that left the country in darkness for days and the 2020 Operation Gideon, recently further exposed in a Max Blumenthal interview with its US organizer, Jordan Goudreau, a former Green Beret.
None of these were isolated incidents: they are coordinated fronts in a sustained hybrid war combining political, psychological, economic, and military aggression.
Yet, in each of these moments, the government and the organized pueblo have responded effectively. During the 2019 electrical sabotage, for example, communities mobilized to ensure access to water and basic needs, while Operation Gideon was defeated by the same fisherfolk who are now being attacked in the Southern Caribbean.
So, to return to your original question: yes, people are alert because the threat is real, but we are also seasoned and organized. We know we are capable of defending the Revolution with unity and discipline. We are in a phase of maximum preparation, with millions voluntarily enrolling in the militia and preparing for the defense of the Patria [homeland].
Indeed, people are not only enlisting in the Bolivarian Militia but also preparing collectively. You’ve given us a historical account of the attacks faced by the Bolivarian Revolution over the past 25 years. But as we know, the current military buildup in the Caribbean is not only against Venezuela: it is an attack on the continent. How do you understand its broader implications?
The imperialist onslaught on the Caribbean is nothing new. Haiti, still punished today for its revolution more than two centuries ago, remains under siege. Now, armed gangs tied to the Dominican Republic are also involved. Puerto Rico continues to endure capitalist dispossession, with five million Puerto Ricans now living in the US while barely three million remain on the island. All the while, revolutionary Cuba has faced a brutal blockade for many decades.
However, the recent imperialist military buildup should deeply concern the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, since it signals a shift in Washington’s military policy. Around 10,000 US troops are currently stationed in the Caribbean, mainly in Puerto Rico, to say nothing of the destroyers, nuclear submarine, and air force deployments.
They are not there only to threaten Venezuela; this is the revival of the Monroe Doctrine. As Trump once said, “Why pay for Venezuelan oil, if we can just take it?” That’s how they think about the resources of the continent.
When it comes to Venezuela, beyond seizing our resources, the US also aims to strip away our sovereignty and destroy the example that we represent. If our project succeeds, it will inspire the entire continent. From Canada to Patagonia, people are struggling for liberation, and the Bolivarian Revolution represents a living example of how that can be done.
Attacking Venezuela serves two purposes: to loot our resources and to extinguish the example of participatory democracy. Since 2021, Venezuela has experienced renewed economic growth and the strengthening of its communes and popular power.
That is precisely what Washington wants to halt: they fear that the peoples of Latin America, and even within the United States, will draw inspiration from our experience.
Why the military escalation at this particular moment?
Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” is itself an admission of decline. The US is no longer what it once was, and its elites are desperate to recover lost ground. Yet even within those elites, fractures abound between the neoconservatives, the Zionist zealots, and the MAGA bloc. Their internal contradictions often produce erratic foreign policy decisions.
However, on one point they all agree: war is profitable. The military-industrial complex remains central to sustaining the US economy. So even amid domestic tensions, there is a bipartisan consensus around war as business.
Before the recent attacks on Venezuelan vessels, President Maduro warned that they might attempt to recreate a Gulf of Tonkin incident, because their hunger for war is insatiable. He was right: this aggression is ultimately driven by the economic imperative of feeding the war machine. In a post-Cold War world, it survives through perpetual “hot wars”—and what better front than Venezuela, which is rich in resources and defiant of imperial domination?
Let’s close with Chávez. He declared the Bolivarian Revolution anti-imperialist in 2004, but in truth, it always had a sovereign and anti-imperialist character. Could you reflect on Chávez’s anti-imperialism?
Indeed. The formal declaration came during a historic rally at the Botanical Garden in 2004, but the Revolution was Bolivarian from the start, and Bolívar himself was profoundly anti-imperialist. He warned that the United States seemed “destined by Providence to plague the Americas with misery in the name of liberty.” That same spirit lives in our revolution since day one.
Chávez revived Bolívar’s anti-imperialist legacy as early as 1977, when he created the People’s Army for the Liberation of Venezuela, whose founding document enshrined Bolivarianism and anti-imperialism as guiding principles. Later, in The Blue Book [1991], he outlined the vision of sovereignty and dignity that still guides us. President Maduro calls that text a “historical compass” pointing us steadfastly, no matter how much we have to maneuver, toward our strategic goal: the defense of sovereignty and the rejection of imperial domination.
For us, being anti-imperialist means not only refusing to surrender our resources, but also defending our identity, our dignity, and our very being. The empire’s elites belong nowhere; they want the world to belong to them. We, by contrast, define ourselves by belonging to a land, to a pueblo, and to a history.
That is why even symbolic aggressions, such as the attempt to erase “Bolivarian” from the Republic’s name during the 2002 coup, or mocking us as “venecos” in an attempt to erase our identity, are part of the war.
Bolivarianism and anti-imperialism are also deeply rooted in your organization, the Frente Francisco de Miranda. Can you tell us about it?
Indeed. In 2003, Fidel and Chávez founded the Frente Francisco de Miranda as a movement of Bolivarian, anti-imperialist social workers. However, anti-imperialism isn’t limited to my organization; it’s in the bloodstream of millions of Venezuelans who have resisted International Monetary Fund impositions since 1989 and continue defending the Bolivarian project today.
To be Chavista is to be anti-imperialist. Chávez was the first Latin American president to recognize Palestine, to support the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, and to speak of our historical debt to Haiti. His backing of these and other liberation struggles was not just a matter of words but also about material support. He also linked the defense of Haiti to a history that, for him, didn’t begin with Pétion and Dessalines, but with Hatuey, the first known hero of an anti-colonial Caribbean rebellion.
That is our Chávez—the anti-imperialist Chávez—whose legacy continues to guide us!
≈≈≈
Cira Pascual Marquina is a Political Science professor at the Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela in Caracas. She is also co‐producer and co‐host (with Chris Gilbert) of the Marxist education program Escuela de Cuadros. She is actively engaged with grassroots organizations in Venezuela and abroad, and is dedicated, both as a militant and as an investigator, to communal initiatives.
What a level-headed no-nonsense perspective by a courageous law enforcement professional who worked a quarter century in DEA and lived in South America.
The history over the past two months or so, is now marked by a media circus explosion.
A $50 million bounty on Maduro
Washington doubled the reward for Maduro’s capture, raising it to $50 million, calling him “one of the world’s biggest drug traffickers.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that the goal is to “strengthen the network around the regime,” accusing prominent figures, including Diosdado Cabello and Vladimir Padrino López, of drug trafficking.
According to the Clash Report, the preparations suggest not a ground attack but air raids.
Expanded military presence in the Caribbean
The United States has assembled a Joint Task Force in the southern Caribbean Sea, initially composed of three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, an amphibious group of 4,500 soldiers, and P-8 reconnaissance aircraft for maritime patrols.
In September, the force was reinforced with 10 F-35B fighters stationed in Puerto Rico and MQ-9 Reaper drones stationed at Rafael Hernández airport.
Deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford strike group
On October 24, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group, including the USS Normandy, USS Carney, and other destroyers, to enter the region.
The operation, involving over 4,000 personnel and 90 aircraft, is described by Venezuelan officials as the “final phase” of a campaign to neutralize the Cartel de los Soles and its ally, Tren de Aragua. These drug cartels are non-existent.
The US forces has shot to smithereens at my last count about 9 small boats that they say were drug trafficers. The accusation to the US is that they do not know who they are bombing and droning. Hegseth announced: “One thing that has been highly misconstrued here is that in some way we don’t know who precisely we are striking and why. We know how to map networks and hunt enemies of our country.”
The past day: The United States has decided to strike military sites inside Venezuela (these are media reports)
Yesterday, the United States closed part of the airspace in the Puerto Rico area. A NOTAM has been issued for a small portion of airspace near the U.S. staging grounds at Puerto Rico. Preparations for the attack on Venezuela are in full swing.
Along the coast of Venezuela and in the northern part of the country, there is a disruption in the GPS signal and spotty power provision.
Sources told the Miami Herald that air raids could begin within days or hours, aiming to paralyze the Venezuelan leadership.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has requested arms supplies from Russia and China. Previously, a Russian plane arrived in Venezuela, reportedly transporting military cargo.
Trump’s denials regarding the preparation of an attack seem more like a smokescreen. The measures taken to deploy forces off the Venezuelan coast are too costly to be just a demonstration. Any attacks will most likely be coordinated with attempts of internal attacks using cells prepared by the CIA.
Reason: The pretext is a roll over of the GWOT into a war on drugs. It is well known that Venezuela is not a drug trafficker and Maduro or Petro in Colombia are not drug lords. The accepted reason is a grab of Venezuela’s oil and mineral riches. What needs to be added is that the two countries under immediate threat, Venezuela and Colombia, are both vocal anti-zionist. The third country that falls within a drug profile, is Mexico. In South America, Ecuador is a known drug manufacturer and distributor country.
Trinidad y Tobago declared an Alert Level 1 for its Armed Forces as well as its Coast Guard over all its islands, the highest level of Alert and called up all military forces to its four military bases.
In the past week Brazil conducted a mega operation in the State of Rio de Janeiro against drug trafficers in certain favelas. This was carried out by the state government along with the civil and military police forces. Did they want to act as an example for the US, i.e., fight drugs in your own country? This may be a possibility. LULA offered mediation services to the US but they shrugged their shoulders.
Commentators that know Venezuela and the terrain, and have themselves been soldiers, comment that Venezuela is akin to Vietnam. Colombian fighters act everywhere in the world as mercenaries so there is real war fighting experience. Venezuela announced the formation of an international force who wants to come in and defend. Venezuela is highly weaponized now, with everyone armed and part of a civilian defense and people’s militias. So far two CIA type operations against Madura was announced and both failed. But it is a lot of money on the table for a person that thinks they will be awarded with this money. It is generally accepted that Venezuelans who left, left because of the regime. It was a surprise to see Venezuelans in London getting together and protesting against the US action. Some left because of the years long sanctions regime.
The Nobel peace prize winner, Maria Corina Machado, is calling for violent overthrow.
The UN and most countries denounced the US action. Venezuela has older Russian missiles and Iranian drones and jets. I would question the bubbly reports of what exactly Venezuela has (really? S300’s?) but it is not farfetched to think that Russian and Iranian training and instructor personnel are on the ground. So the US will be fighting Russian war-making ability, Iranian war-making ability, a massive people’s militia, a conventional army of 95-150k, an international military group, and we cannot say which of the neighbors will lend a hand. Do we expect North Koreans? Just quietly, ya’ know. A AnsarAllah comparison is not appropriate as the conditions are very different.
The US war on Venezuela is a terrorist war on civilians:
Trump admin officials acknowledged that they do not know the identities of the victims of their military attacks in the Caribbean & eastern Pacific.
Should an attack come from the US, it will most probably be stand-off and perhaps they will continue to attempt CIA type operations first. If this really goes hot, we can make ready for another US instigated carnage. Venezuela was never anti selling its oil legitimately to the US.
There are many Latinos in the US. I think of things like this happening: “An explosion occurred at the largest oil refinery in New Mexico, Navajo Refinery. Three people have been taken to the hospital, AP reports citing local police. The causes of the incident have not been disclosed.”
If I could dream, I would dream that the fighting men of the world decides that the hegemon needs a definitive military pushback. Gringo Go Home! Perhaps these international fighting men for Venezuela think of that too. I think of training grounds in the Sahel. I think of international support. As China now has a new center where nations can go to mediate, with skilled mediators, I think of a center where we create an international force, just exactly for examples like Venezuela. Our own Blackrock, or Wagner, so to speak. I am a peace monger and not a war monger, but it looks as if we are seriously in need of the skills of war.
Updates:
Corinna has lost it – Eyes beginning to roll around in her head and telling clearly untrue stories which everyone knows are untrue.
Maria Corina Machado on why Venezuelans aren't taking to the streets to protest:
"This regime, with Cuban intelligence, has created mechanisms to infiltrate, and anyone who goes out into the streets is detained, disappeared, or murdered immediately. When we won the election on… pic.twitter.com/Uk1kVVyYTr
This article cannot be posted on sovereignista.com. But it is well worth reading.
American warships operating off Venezuela’s coast are not doing so without a credible threat. This comes from the presence of the Russian-made Kh-31 high-speed air-to-surface missile. Known to NATO as the AS-17 Krypton, the ramjet-powered weapon is available in both anti-radiation and anti-ship versions, with the ship-killer being the most relevant in this context. With this reality, combined with the steady drumbeat of reports raising the prospect of a military intervention of some kind in Venezuela, it’s worth looking closer at this unique capability within its arsenal.
While we have previously discussed in detail the different layers of Venezuela’s air defense system, it’s one of the key assets of its air force, the Aviación Militar Bolivariana Venezolana, AMBV, or Bolivarian Venezuelan Military Aviation, that is the launch platform for its Kh-31s. This is the Su-30MK2V Flanker multirole fighter, 24 of which were delivered between 2006 and 2008, and 21 of which survive in service today.” …
This short essay serves to illustrate the difference between upbeat reporting, and reality. I am not criticising anyone, so no names need to be mentioned. I am illustrating how we should take note and take most everything with a grain of salt.
RUSSIA-VENEZUELA PACT: A Strategic Hit to US Intentions
Putin has just RATIFIED a comprehensive strategic partnership with Venezuela (http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/document/0001202510270004), signed May 7, 2025. This is a MAJOR geopolitical move.
KEY DETAILS:
Scope: Deepens cooperation across political, economic, energy, mining, transport, and CRITICALLY, security & counter-terrorism.
Goal: Establish a new “mechanism of coordination” on bilateral and international issues. Russian officials state it moves relations to a “fundamentally new level.”
Ideology: The treaty explicitly rejects unilateral sanctions and seeks a “multipolar” world order, directly challenging US hegemony. It includes a joint commitment to counter “historical distortion” and “the legacy of colonialism.”
ANALYSIS:
This is a strategic alliance solidifying Russia’s foothold in America’s backyard. The timing is critical, with the US openly discussing regime change in Venezuela. (https://t.me/newrulesgeo/932)
This treaty transforms Caracas into a key strategic partner for Moscow, and it will make the US think twice before any aggression against Venezuela. The inclusion of security and defense cooperation signals Russia’s intent to be a permanent power player in the region.
—
Sounds good eh! Wonderfully uplifting and a message that looks like a pure win for Russia and Venezuela, and against hegemonic forces. We can feel strong and invincible.
Let’s however take a look at how the hegemonic forces responded to this comprehensive strategic parnership, especially this piece: ” … and it will make the US think twice before any aggression against Venezuela. The inclusion of security and defense cooperation signals Russia’s intent to be a permanent power player in the region.”
—
Now, for the four-fold response in international waters.
This morning in the Dailies, I mentioned: “A reconsideration of our fellow commentators and reporters is in order.”
Again this is not a criticism. Instead this is a call for a serious level of discernment. The old Christian verse comes to mind. “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
Take a good look at that War Department notice. After they killed a bunch of people on a ‘Trust Me Bro’ basis, they initiated search and rescue standard protocols. So very kind of them. May we be clearly not impressed with that little bit of legalism to hide the crime of killing people in international waters and with impunity.
What we observe today in the Middle East, is Israel’s attempting expanding to the “great-greater Israel”, including Iran and possibly Iraq.
It is the Oded Yinon Plan, of the early 1980s, not known to most people, even Israelis. The plan goes way beyond the Greater Israel plan. Pursing this plan means endless war and bloodshed. Neither Israelis nor anybody else in the world wants this. So, its existence – let alone talking openly about – is mediately and politically silenced.
On the other side of the Atlantic, President Trump is attempting reviving and imposing the 1823 Monroe Doctrine 2.0, beginning with Venezuela and now also Colombia. All under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking.
He recently insulted Colombia’s President Petro, calling him a chief drug trafficker, and stopped all financial transaction with Colombia, including what he calls “aid” to Colombia.
The world however knows, or should know, that the US is by far the globe’s biggest drug (and human) trafficker. Even Trump, during his election campaign often referred to the US’s involvement in drug and human trafficking. That is one of the reasons why he was – and still is – so adamant in stopping immigration.
So, what you see in the Middle East and in the Caribbean is not what meets the eye.
The plan for “Greater-Greater Israel”, destruction of Iran (which in the original greater Israel was not included), which will also attempt blocking the Strait Hormuz, to cut off the rest of the western world of hydrocarbon energy, especially China (Israel does the dirty job for the US, supported with US weaponry and money).
Close to 35% of oil and gas – the main source of worldwide energy – is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.
China is clearly targeted. Number ONE for Trump and his handlers.
On the other hand, Trump is trying to take over Venezuela, with the world’s largest hydrocarbon resources, replacing those from the Gulf States, first for MAGA, of course, second for all those puppets who remain obedient to King Donald.
A perfect scenario.
To disguise his intentions, in his TrumpSocial platform, he is ramping against two oil-rich countries, US neighbors. He is now also accusing Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia, as being a drug trafficker. As long as much of Latin America still largely depends on the US-Dollar, the notorious dollar-sanctioning is still a major issue for many, if not most, Latin American Countries (LAC).
Mr. Trump and his economic advisors believe this, coupled with Trump’s wild and incoherent tariff policy, will also reverse the international monetary and trade flow in favor of the US, away from and against China.
This is a wrong concept, because the monetary / trade flow in favor of China involves not just the yuan, but all those local currencies of the BRICS and BRICS associates, commanding a total of 40% to 50% or world GDP. Many of them are closely linked to the Yuan and keep distancing themselves from the US-Dollar and its sanction policies.
Even if the BRICS have little else in common, they all want to trade outside of the UD-Dollar stranglehold, and stick to their local currencies and to the YUAN.
China has no problem getting energy from Russia, Kazakhstan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and other Asian / ASEAN associates.
Once Trump realizes that there is nothing left but a hot war with China, which means also with Russia, and all the SCO members, plus other China associates, the end game may begin, or explode.
Not even his self-declared “grandeur” has a chance to survive such a WWIII-type aggression.
That might be the final demise of the US / Trump Kingdom.
—–
Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst, regular author for Global Research, and a former Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020).
Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.
Tensions between Caracas and Washington show no sign of abating. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has denounced his U-S counterpart Donald Trump for authorizing C-I-A operations in Venezuela.
Maduro said the C-I-A has been active in Venezuela for the past 60 years and interfered in the South American nation’s internal affairs. He added that the U-S central intelligence agency had conspired not only against him but also against former President Hugo Chavez. The Venezuelan leader further warned that Washington is waging psychological warfare to intimidate and demoralize the Venezuelan people. However, he asserted that Venezuelans remain united and capable of defeating conspiracies against the country’s peace and stability.
—————-
PressTV: How do you see the situation, Mr. Koenig?
PK
Well, under President Trump, the Monroe Doctrine is again alive and kicking. But this time Latin America will no longer fall for it. Those times are gone.
As to Trump’s constant aggressions – expand this to the US Governments over the last few decades – it is not just Trump and the US who are continually aggressing Venezuela.
It is the entire west. It is a typical puppet reaction. What the Emperor does must be right. Besides, if we don’t support him with deadly sanctions on Venezuela – as is the case on Russia – he may punish us.
This political anti-Venezuela game is played out all the way to the Nobel Peace Prize which was awarded to Madame Maria Corina Machado, who is known to be a Venezuela trouble maker, committed to Trump’s wars, officially supporting them, also a strong supporter of Netanyahu’s genocide – openly spoke about her support for Bibi the butcher.
Ms. Machado has already on several occasions attempted a coup against the Maduro Government, and already in 2002 supported an attempted CIA Regime Change against then President Hugo Chavez.
Ms. Machado comes from a wealthy industrialist family, is a conservative neoliberal and – guess what? – She is also a World Economic Forum (WEF) Young Global Leader.
She is surely getting help from an international forum for her attempts to take over the Venezuelan Government – and privatize all the countries riches, mainly the trillions worth hydrocarbon resources.
She has recently said so – in an interview with Trump, that if she is made President of Venezuela, the benefits for the US will be enormous. She is absolutely NO peace maker or even Peace seeker.
The Nobel Peace Prize is as usual highly politicized, you could say weaponized. It is a War-Prize rather than a Peace Prize.
It will give Trump more power to eventually attack Venezuela.
He knew it. That is why he most likely knowing in advance the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Commission, accepted it with pleasure, as it will help what is really behind the American aggression against first Chavez, then Maduro, namely the enormous wealth of hydrocarbons, in the trillions of dollars-worth. The largest reserves worldwide.
Trump and his predecessors could not care less about Venezuela having a socialist government. Although it is at Trump’s doorstep, it is not, never has been, a threat to America.
Similarly, Trump could not care less about the “drug trafficking”, for which he accuses Maduro’s government. Trump knows quite well that the biggest drug trafficker worldwide is the United States. Period. The world must know that too.
Will President Trump succeed with Regime Change in Venezuela? – I doubt it. Though the media talk about the enormous US navy-vessel strength stationed in the Caribbean, ready any moment to attack Venezuela. What they do not say is that China has quietly also sent a military flotilla to the Caribbean. China, Venezuela, and Russia are close allies. Trump knows it. So, he better be careful what he is risking.
See the actual interview here: https://www.urmedium.net/c/presstv/134922 .
———– Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst, regular author for Global Research, and a former Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020).
Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.
———–
[Note:Colombian public media confirm that the vessel destroyed in a U.S. military strike on September 15 — the second known U.S. attack on a boat in the Caribbean — was a Colombian fishing boat operating within Colombian territorial waters.
Among the three people killed extrajudicially in the strike was lifelong fisherman Alejandro Carranza, whose identity has been verified by his cousin. The boat had suffered an engine failure and was adrift with a distress signal raised.
Captain Leonardo Vega, an instructor and fishing companion of Carranza, says the video of the strike clearly shows one engine raised — a universal sign of damage and emergency.
“If a boat is adrift and in distress, international law requires that assistance be given, not that it be attacked,” Vega stated.
Vega also confirmed the vessel’s Colombian origin, identifying it as an Eduardoño model commonly used in Taganga, Santa Marta, Parque Tayrona, and La Guajira. He dismissed U.S. claims that it may have crossed into international waters, noting that less than 48 hours passed between Carranza’s departure and the time of the attack — far too little for the boat to have drifted 200 miles offshore.
The evidence leaves no doubt: the U.S. strike targeted a Colombian vessel inside Colombia’s own waters, killing innocent fishermen in violation of international law and Colombian sovereignty.]
Of course, Trump threatens again. Of course they shot a Colombian boat. Trump’s Truth Social Post cannot spell Colombia. It is almost a given that some C-I-A operatives will lose some, with no subsidies.
Trump threatened strikes on Venezuelan territory and did not rule out the transfer of “Tomahawks” to Ukraine
“They [the ‘Venezuelan drug traffickers’] no longer arrive by sea, so we need to watch the land because they will be forced to move overland. And let me say, this will not end well for them,” Trump said at a parade honoring the US Navy.
He also said: “In the heat of fierce battles and in the fog of naval war, American sailors have repeatedly proven that our navy does its job in the best way… We own the sky, we roam the depths, and we RULE THE SEAS.”
Before this statement, the US military had already struck small vessels four times [now five times] in neutral waters, allegedly carrying prohibited substances from the Venezuelan coast: on September 2, 16, 19, and October 3.
Thus, Trump effectively announced the transition of the operation against the “Venezuelan drug cartels” from neutral waters to the sovereign territory of Venezuela. The US Armed Forces will begin probing with strikes on land. And if they consider the response from Venezuelan authorities weak, they will proceed to a ground operation to seize key facilities: ports and airfields. However, if there is a high risk of a protracted war with significant costs, they will most likely refrain from intervention. But strikes are not ruled out.
Against the backdrop of intense discussions about supplying the Kyiv regime with American “Tomahawk” cruise missiles, Russia could transfer “Kalibr” cruise missiles to Venezuelan comrades solely for self-defense. Such weapons can confidently strike US Navy surface ships in the Caribbean Sea at long ranges. Russian coastal missile systems “Bastion” and “Bal” could also become useful for defending Venezuela from invasion.
In this case, the US would fully experience the format of proxy war firsthand. Currently, given Venezuela’s lack of long-range missiles, US Navy ships feel very confident at a sufficient distance from its shores. But the appearance of the above-described weapons in the Venezuelan army and the threat of their use would quickly humble the American military arrogance, as well as the self-appointed “director” of planet Earth, a potential candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“Through the spray of raging combat and the fog of naval war, America's sailors have proven time and again that our Navy does just the best job there is… We own the skies, we stalk the depths, and we RULE THE SEAS.” – President Donald J. Trump. pic.twitter.com/C6NkgEaPzN
Summary of article: This is a follow up on previous articles on the U.S. and Venezuela, with updates, commentary and some background information. The question is: is it another re-run of “wag the tail”, some contrived window dressing, (smoke and mirrors) by Washington or ultimately “feeding the U.S. public a line” (*) or a mix of all these?
U.S. posturing in the region
Fishing boats
Trinidad and Tobago
Wag the tail continues… the Caribbean version 2025.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez criticised the deployment of U.S. naval vessels and stated that the U.S. government should redirect its recently deployed maritime force to the Pacific, where aircraft, speed boats and container ships have long carried Colombian cocaine into Central American hubs for onward transhipment to the U.S. (See previous article for details).
“Those ships that are trying to intimidate Venezuela today should be there in the Pacific if they truly wanted to fight and prevent cocaine from reaching the United States of America,” she said, citing the United Nations and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports, (previously mentioned). She added that
“They have a GPS location problem. They’re where they shouldn’t be. They need to calibrate their GPS.”
“There’s a lot of hypocrisy, a lot of double standards, a lot of political manipulation of this issue to attack, to intervene, to aim for regime change in countries that aren’t sympathetic.”
Delcy Rodríguez also:
highlighted that Venezuela destroys 70% of intercepted drugs;
asserted the country is not a producer;
stated that the U.S. is using drug trafficking as an excuse for regime change.
“Most of the time they violate operational rules, because they do not notify their flight plan, which could cause accidents,” he said at a press conference. He added that the flights have tripled in August and have changed from daytime single mission flights, to nocturnal and early morning ones.
It just happens that Washington had sent in August 2025, a US Navy P-8 aircraft to the Southern Caribbean as part of a broader military buildup in the area. However, it won’t be the only U.S. military aircraft flying in the area. Other aircraft reported include the visible backbone of intelligence gathering and operational monitoring:
RC-135 ‘Rivet Joint’: ELINT and SIGINT long-range gathering intelligence, (article and infographic). They have been used in supporting counter-narcotics operations in the region for decades.
E-3 ‘Sentry’ AWACS — Air command and (air/sea/ land) surveillance, ELINT, (article).
P-8 ‘Poseidon’, Maritime patrol , electronic intelligence and ASW, (infographic).
KC-135 Air refuelling tankers provide the support for long-distance missions.
Then there is the invisible intelligence gathering, satellites and electronic eavesdropping, as well as the eyes and ears on the ground.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there aren’t any RQ4 Global Hawks flights in the region as well, since they have apparently not been reported by the Venezuelan authorities. I would have thought that they would do so.
According to the latest sitrep by Rybar, there are long-distance MQ-9 ‘Reaper’ drones based at San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Venezuelan authorities ought to mention these, given their notoriety, and highly questionable and controversial use in the Middle East, Pakistan, Afghanistan, their widespread use raised concerns by the UN, concerning extra-judicial killings of civilians.
Another aircraft, an MC-130J, is also in Puerto Rico. This aircraft is a special operations used for infiltration /exfiltration clandestine operations. The U.S.A. is flexing its military muscles and making sure that Caracas notices. Combine these aircraft with the U.S. Marine USS Iwo Jima ARG group, as well as the U.S. warships, it is somewhat over the top for just a “counter narcotics” operation. The inclusion of military aircraft and a submarine lend itself more to a special operation configuration.
Having spent years looking and analysing these flights off the borders of Russia, the heightened sense of hostility has certainly shifted to the Caribbean. Rivet Joints and P-8s are not strangers to the Caribbean, they have been deployed many times, but usually on single missions, (2019), however the timing of such flights, their frequency is somewhat different, especially the addition of an E-3 AWACS.
Venezuela is under close scrutiny, day and night, from space, air and sea, and it is not just military units that are under observation. All of these U.S. military resources underpin active and wide-spectrum intelligence-gathering, potentially in support of designating targets.
After many years of Washington and Pentagon officials grousing about those “unsafe and unprofessional interactions” with the Russians, Chinese and Iranians, (in the Black Sea, Mediterranean, the Gulf, Sea China Sea and Barents Sea), now there is seemingly the reverse situation taking place off the Venezuelan coast. The English expression: “the pot calling the kettle black” is rather apt.
Newspaper cartoon from 1912 about the Monroe Doctrine — Monroe Doctrine, enforced by Uncle Sam, keeps European governments away from Western Hemisphere.
Some things change but other aspects don’t. The Monroe Doctrine revisited, except for this time, it isn’t the European countries that are of concerns to U.S. exceptionalism, but China and Russia.
U.S. posturing in the region
Rybar Visual sitrep 15 September 2025 on U.S.A. military in region
I’ll keep it brief: The Trump administration still has not provided any evidence whatsoever linking:
the Venezuelan president to Tren de Aragua, or the “Cartel of the Suns”.
the boat crew killed by the U.S. military strike to the “Tren de Aragua”.
Strong with the weak and weak with the strong.
Given the responses by Marco Rubio and Vice-President Vance on the UN and highly dubious legalities of the military strike, it is safe to say that there won’t be some high visible Venezuelan false flag version of the infamous Colin Powell moment at the UN General Assembly.
In fact, as in recent times with other regime change operations, the U.S. administration has completely skipped the UN. They simply are not bothered to go to any lengths to justify their actions anymore, in their quest for ratcheting up the necessary ingredients needed for a regime change operation. Certainly, the U.S. is trying to tighten the geopolitical thumbscrews to get some leverage out from the Venezuelan authorities.
For starters, Washington pulled out of thin air, several narco-terrorism allegations against the authorities in Caracas and that’s it folks. Although, at first sight, it seems so dramatic and exaggerated, but it is part of the U.S. playbook on regime changes, but it is also quite hackneyed by this stage, to most people, especially those in the Global South.
Puerto Rican military exercises and U.S. regional presence
5 September: the announcement of the deployment of ten F-35 fighters to Puerto Rico, to conduct combat air patrols in the region and support the Southern Caribbean fleet.
8th September: Following the U.S. Marine amphibious exercises off the southern coast of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Secretary for War, Hegseth told sailors and Marines onboard the USS “Iwo Jima”, flagship of the Iwo Jima ARG: “What you’re doing right now – it’s not training … This is the real-world exercise on behalf of the vital national interests of the United States of America to end the poisoning of the American people.
The regional exercises are still continuing.
10 September: The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) 2021 status for Venezuelans in the U.S. has been revoked by Washington. (I cannot understand the context for this when the 2023 TPS have been extended by the Washington administration).
Fishing boats
The U.S. Navy is still making its presence felt off the coast of Venezuela. On 12 September, a “Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) Team” from the USS “Jason Dunham” (DDG-109) carried out a 8-hour long boarding of a Venezuelan tuna boat, (photo of the boat in the article). The small Venezuelan flagged “Carmen Rosa”, was operating 48 nautical miles northeast of La Blanquilla Island, in Venezuela’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Fortunately, the fishermen were eventually released under Venezuelan naval escort.
The Venezuelan foreign minister, Yvan Gil, called the action as “as a hostile provocation aimed at justifying military escalation“. Of course, this plays straight into the U.S. script, as practically every MSM, TV repeatedly refer to increasing tensions. The escalation or tension cited is being created is intentionally by the U.S. and every action taken by Venezuela in defence of its sovereignty is labelled as a ‘provocation’.
It doesn’t take 8 hours to carry out an inspection of a small fishing boat, so the 9-man crew were effectively held hostage, probably to coax out the Venezuelan navy or coastguard or even air assets to the area, which did happen.
In a month, the U.S. presence at sea:
one presumed cartel boat destroyed,
one boat briefly detained,
and one case where another boat was intercepted and seized by another country.
It is fair to say that’s a lot of time, resources and money is going quickly down the drain, for a very feeble ‘noisy’ and messy result so far. It feels a lot like a window dressing exercise being played out.
Meanwhile, the destruction of the peñero and now the detention of the tuna boat only serves to strengthen the Venezuelan peoples’ attitude and also unites them in the face of outright U.S. visible aggression, not that the U.S. administration cares.
Just today, the commander buffoon bumbler-in-chief, Trump, at it again, with his ‘quiddities’ about Venezuelan gangs and drugs, stating that “We’ll see what happens” when asked about the possibility of a U.S. military strike on the country, citing the flow of gang members, drug dealers, and narcotics from Venezuela as being unacceptable. He went as far as stating: “”What’s illegal are the drugs on the boat, and the drugs that are being sent into our country and the fact that 300 million people died last year from drugs, that’s what’s illegal,” (source FOX News). I wonder where he pulled that figure from? 300 million in the U.S. (340 million population), or world-wide? That claim is impossible. There we go, another soundbite bites the dust.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago falls in squarely into the U.S. vassal status by mimicking the U.S. stance on Venezuela. The prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, recently said that the island would “unhesitatingly” grant access to the U.S. military in the event of an Venezuelan attack on Guyana”. Furthermore, the authorities have:
shown aggressive attitudes for years towards migrant boats and Venezuelan migrants,
recognised “Tren del Aragua” as a terrorist organisation, echoing Washington’s decision.
exercise and coordinate with the U.S. military in the region,
ruthlessly praised the destruction of the Venezuelan peñero boat by the U.S. recently.
Just recently, the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard seized 268 kg of marijuana, (yes you read that correctly), from a fishing boat from Venezuela. This shows quite well that it is possible to carry out interdiction operations without blowing up boats, (more about this aspect later in the article).
Yet, a 20-year agreement, signed in August 2024, allowing BP and Trinidad’s NGC to explore and produce natural gas from the Cocuina field in Venezuelan waters, which extends across the maritime boundary with Trinidad and Tobago. Earlier, Venezuela granted NGC a 30-year license in December 2023 to develop the Dragon Gas Field, located in Venezuelan waters, with Royal Dutch Shell as the operator. U.S. sanctions imposed on this venture have caused delays to preliminary work to explore and exploit this field.
A nice example of sheer hypocrisy really.
Additional commentary
Fear-mongering
Is it any surprising that local communities are fearful of the U.S. naval presence, especially in Trinidad and Tobago. President of the All Tobago Fisherfolk Association, Curtis Douglas, warned that local fishermen fear they could be mistaken for traffickers.
“Our fishermen go 40 and 50 miles, very deep, and they could easily be mistaken for doing whatever, drugs or whatever, and being blown into the water,” he said.
Anyone on the water around Venezuela can be suspected, as highlighted by the “Carmen Rosa” incident.
Discreet realpolitik
There are other aspects that needs mentioning to get a glimpse of the overall geopolitical comings and goings. Other than the noise generated by the U.S. Navy presence, other events carry on relatively unhindered, especially the Venezuelan “Plan Vuelta a la Patria”, in which dialogue, discussions and flights do take place, between Venezuela and the U.S., through intermediaries, Camilla Fabri Saab, who heads the programme and Melania Trump who was involved in the negotiations, among others.
A very recent example of this where 300 migrants were flown home and also four children were reunited with their family back in Venezuela on 12 September, after being flown from the U.S. Around 60 children that were forcibly separated from their parents are still in the U.S. So far, in 2025, around 12 000 migrants have been repatriated back mostly from the U.S.
This shows that some back channels still operate discreetly between Venezuela and the U.S. despite the visible wall-to-wall negative and aggressive coverage by the U.S. administration and MSM alike.
Business as usual
The Trinidad and Tobago drug seizure shows very well the real tried and tested framework for drug interdiction operations, from intelligence gathering –> track, monitor, intercept, seize and detain. No big media fuss, just an official statement or two. So this shows quite clearly that the destruction of the peñero off Trinidad and Tobago at the beginning of September was a macabre publicity stunt, probably for a domestic audience. In fact, Marco Rubio confirmed this in a chilling way: “Instead of interdicting it, on the president’s orders, we blew it up — and it’ll happen again.” (Link).
Moreover, the brutal U.S. administration deterrence message against drug cartels has not been heeded by the drug traffickers themselves, given the latest marijuana seizure in the same area.
It is unmistakably clear that it is a show of force by Washington, showcasing its ability to enforce its military power, both as a threat and as an instrument of power to wield, while at the same time offering meagre reassurance to proxy countries such as Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.
The question: how long will this last? The Monroe Doctrine is still “alive and well”(^).
More mimicry
Several days ago, the European Parliament urged the EU to designate armed groups in Colombia and also Venezuela’s supposed Cartel de los Soles as terrorist organisations. The resolution was supported by the Spanish party ‘Vox’, Renew Europe, ECR and the French party, Patriots for Europe, and and was approved with 355 votes for. The reasoning behind it: “the proliferation of organised crime and terrorist activity on the borders between Colombia and Venezuela“. I am baffled as how this actually affects Europe countries in any serious way, but cynically, it is again window dressing, as a bootlicking exercise, in other words, to get on the right side of the U.S. administration, by mimicking the actions.
Conclusion
Further exchanges of heated words will happen from time to time, while other U.S. proxies will also fall into lockstep over designating Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles as terrorist organisation, just to appease Washington.
It remains to be seen if there is a limited clash on the seas between Venezuela military and a U.S. warship, although it is a remote possibility, since the Venezuelans are being very cautious.
Certainly, the U.S. administration’s accusations and rhetoric will continue for the foreseeable future. So will the occasional cringeworthy volley of hostile words and soundbites, all part of Washington’s guessing game.
The latest outbreak of the revamped version of the Monroe Doctrine is ultimately aimed at China, Russia and also BRICS on whole, because Washington has a sore point about them buying Russian oil and gas, but also seeing U.S. hegemony being undermined by BRICS and SCO initiatives. Thus, the U.S. sees countries that are supporting others trying to pull away from U.S. exceptionalism, such as Venezuela, as a major threat.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Notes: (*): Idomatic expression to tell someone something that is not completely true, often as an excuse.
Venezuela accused the United States government of boarding another Venezuelan vessel, calling it an illegal and hostile act that “seeks to justify a military escalation in the Caribbean.”
“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces that, on Friday, September 12, the Venezuelan vessel Carmen Rosa, crewed by nine humble tuna fishermen, sailing 48 nautical miles northeast of La Blanquilla Island in waters belonging to the Venezuelan Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), was illegally and hostilely assaulted by a U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), equipped with powerful cruise missiles and manned by highly trained marines.
The warship deployed eighteen armed personnel who boarded and occupied the small and harmless vessel for eight hours, preventing communication and the normal work of the fishermen carrying out an authorized tuna fishing operation, in an action that lacked any strategic proportionality and constituted a direct provocation through the illegal use of excessive military force.
Those who give the orders for such provocations are seeking an incident that justifies a military escalation in the Caribbean, with the aim of persisting in their failed and rejected policy of regime change, dismissed even by the American people. By placing their soldiers and officers as cannon fodder and exposing their lives once again, they repeat the history of other events that triggered endless wars such as Vietnam.
The incident reflects the shameful conduct of certain political sectors in Washington who, irresponsibly, commit extremely costly military resources and trained soldiers as instruments to fabricate pretexts for warlike adventures, also undermining their own prestige and military honor by carrying out such a grotesque and disproportionate maneuver.
The Bolivarian National Armed Force, faithful to its constitutional duty, monitored and recorded the incident minute by minute with its aerial, naval, and surveillance resources, accompanying the fishermen at all times until their release, demonstrating Venezuela’s full capacity to monitor, deter, and respond to any threat, without falling into provocations that would tarnish its vocation for peace.
The Venezuelan government demands that the United States immediately cease these actions that endanger the security and peace of the Caribbean, while also calling on the American people to recognize the seriousness of these maneuvers and reject the use of their soldiers as sacrificial pawns to satisfy the ambitions of a greedy and predatory elite.
Our country reaffirms its commitment to peace and will continue defending its sovereignty and the security of its waters against any provocation.”
Earlier, Yván Gil defended the alleged fishermen who were attacked, stating that they were only working in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ):
“We denounce this before the national and international community. Yesterday, a Venezuelan fishing vessel was boarded by a U.S. Navy unit. They were humble tuna fishermen, sailing (…) in waters belonging to the Venezuelan Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).”
It is just a messy old local fishing boat. I cannot tell you how many times in the Caribbean waters we went down to the fishing pier early morning and waited for the local fishermen to come in so that we could buy fresh catch.
On Monday, during a television program broadcast by Russia Today, former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa interviewed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, with whom he analyzed the geopolitical implications of the presence of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean.
“What Washington wants is to control Venezuela’s wealth. That is the reason why the United States deployed warships, aircraft, missiles and a nuclear submarine near Venezuelan coasts under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking,” the Bolivarian leader said.
“The first thing they are after is oil and gas. Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves, which have increased thanks to new recovery technologies. Venezuela has the fourth-largest gas reserves, spread across the Caribbean — precisely where the United States sent its fleet,” Maduro explained.
The Venezuelan president also mentioned that the region may hold the world’s largest gold reserves, 30 million hectares of arable farmland, abundant water and a strategic geographic location that connects to Central America, North America and the Atlantic Ocean.
United States Seeks Conditions for Aggression
In August, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a military deployment in the southern Caribbean. Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest under an unfounded accusation that he leads a “drug trafficking cartel.”
Caracas denounced both actions as maneuvers aimed at forcing political change and seizing Venezuela’s natural resources. To respond to the U.S. deployment, Maduro called for voluntary enlistment in the Bolivarian Militia to strengthen the country’s defense system.
Despite escalating tensions, the Bolivarian leader has expressed openness to dialogue with Trump but rejected the “Gunboat Diplomacy” that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio appears to favor in relations with Latin American countries.
On Sept. 4, the Pentagon said two Venezuelan military aircraft flew “close to a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters,” calling it a “provocative” move to interfere with “counter-narcoterrorism operations” in the area. Trump later threatened to shoot down Venezuelan military planes if they put the United States “in a dangerous position.”
Meanwhile, President Maduro declared that the Bolivarian nation would resort to armed struggle if it were attacked. He said Washington “must abandon its plan for violent regime change in Venezuela and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Venezuela Fights Drug Trafficking Effectively
During the broadcast of his program “Con Maduro +” on Monday, the Venezuelan president said his country maintains a successful anti-drug policy, in contrast with the United States, which he accused of shirking responsibility for domestic drug consumption.
“They spread fake news to justify the unjustifiable. We decided to deploy our militia to confront this unacceptable interference, which seeks regime change to seize the nation’s natural wealth,” he said.
“The United States is the biggest drug consumer. It is not interested in addressing the serious public health problem its citizens face due to high drug use,” Maduro said.
He also argued that U.S. territory hosts the financial and business systems through which international drug trafficking and related Latin American oligarchies launder profits from illicit activities. He cited data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other international agencies.
The Venezuelan president said 70% of Colombian cocaine exits through Ecuadorian ports toward the United States, citing figures from the World Customs Organization, which also reported that the global illicit drug trade generates up to US$652 billion annually.
Currently, 85% of drug trafficking profits remain in the U.S. banking system, and 57% of money laundering linked to fentanyl takes place through traditional banking operations, he added.
Maduro defended Venezuela’s position as a territory free of coca leaf cultivation and cocaine laboratories, something confirmed by reports from United Nations–affiliated agencies.
Transnational Media Whitewash Aggression Against Venezuela
Maduro thanked the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) for defending Venezuelan sovereignty and voicing concern over the U.S. military deployment near the South American nation’s coasts.
Regarding these maneuvers, Maduro accused international news agencies of insisting on reporting “tensions” between Venezuela and the United States when the reality is “imperial aggression.”
“Those euphemisms seek to normalize the aggression of a declining power against a peaceful country,” the Venezuelan president said, recalling that the global governance system that prevailed for decades is being reconfigured to give way to a new international order based on equality and justice.
“Colonialism is not an alternative for Venezuela, nor is losing its independence,” he said, highlighting the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in reshaping multilateralism.
“Ancient China, together with powerful Russia and India, are working jointly to forge a world where there is room for everyone, preserving our cultures and economic systems,” Maduro said, referring to the SCO meeting held in Tianjin earlier this month.
“It is not an obligation to accept a supremacist model like the Western one, which excluded many and was imposed on colonies hundreds of years ago. Today Venezuela is at the forefront of a new world that is being born, and its destiny is victory,” he said.
“The Global South peoples are in a powerful era. A new humanity has said ‘Enough!’ and is moving forward with giant steps. They have not been able to defeat it and never will,” Maduro stressed.
“EIon Musk flaunts occult symbols on his chest, the mark of the satanic sects of U.S. power, the same forces behind Milei and the fascists attacking Venezuela. This is a spiritual battle between good and evil, between hatred, lies, deception, and fascism.”
With the destruction of a fishing launch in the Southern Caribbean on Tuesday, it seems to me that the U.S. military operations against Venezuela have taken another turn for the worst. Previously, the emphasis was targeting the high-level officials with U.S. indictments in 2020, bounties doubled this summer and official threats. However, this year, ordinary people have been singled out and this week actually targeted.
Maybe some are criminals, but there is no definite evidence put out publicly to show that this is the case. A case in point were the deported Venezuelan individuals who were arbitrarily detained in El Salvador’s CECOT jail in March / April, without trial, without access to legal representation. All done on the basis of the U.S. administration allegations that they were gang members, belonging to the “Tren de Aragua”. It turned out that most of those jailed in CECOT had no criminal records and were solely identified as gang members solely based on ordinary tattoos that they had.
The U.S. actions not only fit a pattern of stigmatising, criminalising Venezuelan migrants, criminalising them, but now extra-judicial killings off their coast. Not that this is new, as it seems that every president has to have his hands bloodied, whether it is Yemen, Sudan, Syria.
Colombian president Gustavo Petro quite rightly stated that the attack on the boat “breaks the universal principle of proportionality and is murder.” Then he shows one example of a maritime interdiction carried out by Colombian forces:
Petro also highlighted the stark contrast with the U.S. operation: “We have been capturing civilians who transport drugs for decades without killing them”. President Petro added that “those who transport drugs are not big narcos, but very poor young people from the Caribbean and the Pacific.”
Very true words, people who are at the lowest level of the drug cartel structures. While the “big fish” swim freely. This type of heavy handed response is actually counterproductive, in tracking and investigating the shipments and destinations of illicit narcotics, so it doesn’t help to dismantle the rest of the routes and traffickers and more importantly, the money trail. Not that it matters to Washington policy-makers, as even the Mexican president Sheinbaum, has pointed some home truths about the thriving ‘narcostate’ in the U.S.
US secretary of defense Hegseth stated on U.S. media that: “This is a deadly, serious mission for us and it won’t stop with just this strike”. He added that, “anyone else trafficking in those waters who we know is a designated narco-terrorist will face the same fate.” He stated that he watched the operation live.
Meanwhile the head of states that are under the U.S. proxy umbrella are supportive of the U.S. military, including, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, who praised the attack, saying all drug-traffickers should be “violently eliminated.” Another candidate for inclusion in the 21st century version of “Operation Condor”, with the following statement: “I feel no compassion for them, the U.S. Army should have them all violently eliminated.”
Personally, I feel that this is the ominous start to another encirclement of Venezuela, by using a series of tripwires to antagonise the authorities in Caracas, as well as increasingly draw in the likes of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago into being useful sidekicks. All of which spins the wheels of the U.S. driven narratives.
In my opinion: This latest action maybe was done to try to start to lure out the Venezuelan navy and military, which has started exercises several days ago, operation “Bicentennial of the Sword of Peru ” As such, the U.S. may possibly provoke a false flag incident, thus providing a casus belli for the U.S. to swing into a limited military action against the Venezuelan authorities.
Two F-16s of the Venezuelan Air Force flew by one of the U.S. warships, the USS Jason Dunham, in move described by the the US Department of Defense as “highly provocative” and also stated it was done“to interfere with our counter-narco-terror operations”.
“The cartel running Venezuela”
A double take: FONOPS and counter-narcotics ops
The U.S. navy might carry out other raids and targeting, as well as a FONOP*, (like they did several times in 2022 and 2020, possibly in the same area as where the speedboat was destroyed). The 2022 FONOPs were done at a time when oil tankers from Iran were arriving to the shores of Venezuela. In 2020, tankers were seized by the U.S., while an “enhanced counter-narcotics operation” in the region was taking place. Now, five years on, another one is underway.
*freedom of navigation operation, (U.S. unilateral military operations, taking advantage of UNCLOS, while not actually being a signatory of it). I have written about in previous articles and interestingly, a Chinese think tank has carried out research into this U.S. military shtick, (read here).
The Western MSM take
True to style, the UK mainstream media outlet went for ‘ kinetic’ in the headline, much less emotional than massacre. In full stenographer mode no less.
The word ‘kinetic’. That reminds me of this:
Legalities and not niceties
Screenshot of BBC headline on legality of military strike on boat, along with obligatory question format.
It was certainly illegal, even if it was in international waters.
Was there a ‘hot pursuit’?
Were there radio warnings and “shots across the bow”?
Were the U.S. military under imminent danger or attack?
The U.S. has not provided any legal context for authorising the destruction of the boat. Rubio, Trump and Hegseth all have parroted the same narrative, accusing Maduro of operating and having close connections to drug trafficking cartels, (Tren de Aragua, Cartel de los Soles) in Venezuela, by stating that Maduro has been indicted by a U.S. court, (there is a fine example of extra-territoriality lawfare at work).
Echoing what Hegseth had said to Fox News the day before, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while visiting Mexico, told the press on Wednesday that strikes on drug-carrying boats will continue. The U.S. has so far failed to offer any credible evidence to justify the military operation, that would be compatible with international law norms. Rubio went further and dismissed the fact finding UN reports.
It is telling that the overall majority of the U.S. intelligence community couldn’t find credible links between the Venezuelan government and Tren de Aragua, back in April. The classified report was released by National Intelligence Council.
Both the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. official agencies have not found the “smoking gun” evidence, but the Trump administration does, sufficiently to warrant the destruction of a boat? What next is in store for Venezuela?
Jointly, along with Colombian deployments, Venezuela has sent 15,000 troops to its borders with Colombia to intensify its own long-running counter-narcotics operations and other criminal activity. Not that you will see much in the Western MSM about Caracas’ efforts in tackling drug traffickers and organised crime.
The boat was in international waters, so force can be used to stop it, but it has to be proportional, (which I assume is what President Petro was referring to), with non-lethal measures in the first place, if there is no danger or risk to life to law enforcement officials pursuing the vessel. Both UNCLOS and the 1988 UN Drug Trafficking Convention have provisions on cooperation, boarding at sea and other legal mechanisms. I’m reminded of one of the longest hot pursuit on the high seas back in 2003, over 7000 km in all. It certainly encapsulated international cooperation, boarding and detention of the illegal fishing vessel. The U.S. Navy certainly could have assisted the Trinidad and Tobago authorities to intercept the boat, but none was provided. The small launch certainly wasn’t going to go all of the way to U.S. waters, over 2000km, that’s for sure. The U.S. authorities wilfully threw international law requirements in a landfill, not a bin.
The U.S enacted the designation of “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” to blur the boundaries between law enforcement and hostile military action. Certainly very slippery ground, but unfortunately, the U.S. has an extremely long bloody pedigree in this area, side stepping the international legal norms, just to be the sheriff in town.
I’ve listened to, and read a number of comments on the current Trump administration drowning their murder in international waters down Venezuela way. What is incredible, is that the majority of the Americans are still making comments like: “This is not us”, and “We don’t do these things”. It is as if the memory banks are wiped but also as if the truth about themselves are subsumed into a type of cognitive dissonance that kicks in immediately. The deeply inculcated propaganda of “we are the good guys” again fights with the facts that they are NOT the “good guys”. This is not a blanket accusation at all as you will understand. We, the Global South, the RoW, the BRICS and certainly now the SCO, can only say: “Yes guys, this is you. You’ve done this for ever, for many years”. We hope that the murder of Venezuelans on a little boat in international waters serves as a wakeup call as to whom you serve. In reality, there has been so much, so many incidents such as this.
We are going to have to talk about the language change from “The War on Terror” to “The War on Drugs”. Of course, the language change from using the word peace to indicate war, is not so clearly demarcated in the common language but we observe. We know the word ‘democracy’ has now disappeared. Sovereignty is now used in the real world.
Let me ask the question: With this prequel, what do you think the Zionists may do to the large flotilla on its way to Gaza? China warned us a while ago, with their study into the US use of UNCLOS, the law of the sea.
We have a current precedent now. The barbarians respect no international law in international waters. They do not even respect their own law.
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