The US offensive against Venezuela is in a tightening phase that goes far beyond traditional economic sanctions. The President’s Announcement Donald Trump Stopping sanctions-banned oil tankers from entering or leaving the country is part of a broader strategy that combines military pressure, economic coercion and long-term geopolitical objectives, with oil as the central axis.
The escalation took shape in early September when US forces invaded Attacks on small boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific that Washington identified as part of drug trafficking networks. Since then, the operations have been repeated again and again: in total there were 26 attacks in which 99 people were killed. Lawyers specializing in international law warned that the use of lethal force without a declared armed conflict could pose substantive legal questions for the United States.
From then on, the campaign took on a distinctly military dimension. Trump authorized CIA covert operations planning and ordered a naval and air operation in the Caribbean that analysts are calling the largest since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Warships were deployed off the coast of Venezuela, bombers began operating near the country’s airspace, and U.S. troops, along with advanced radar systems, were sent to Trinidad and Tobago, just a few kilometers from Venezuelan territory.
Authoritarians don’t like that
The practice of professional and critical journalism is a mainstay of democracy. That is why it bothers those who believe that they are the owners of the truth.
Publicly, the White House portrayed each move as part of an anti-drug offensive. U.S. officials describe Venezuela as “anesthesia stat“and Nicolás Maduro himself as a central actor in these networks. However, this narrative is problematic even within the state apparatus itself: Venezuela does not produce drugs, and most of the drugs that pass through its territory are destined for Europe, not the United States.
In political circles in Washington, the actual goal appears to be more broadly formulated. “Trump wants to keep destroying ships until Maduro gives in”said Susie Wiles, the president’s chief of staff, in statements that reflect a logic of direct pressure aimed at forcing a political break.
Against the clock, Maduro launched his diplomatic offensive to contain Trump
In recent days, this logic has been clearly translated to the energy level. The US seized a Venezuelan oil tanker and Trump promised to block all sanctioned ships related to the country’s crude oil trade, A move that points directly to Caracas’ most important strategic asset. Venezuela concentrates about 17% of the world’s proven oil reserves, more than 300 billion barrels, a magnitude that far exceeds US reserves and explains why the conflict goes beyond the sanctions level. There is also a key geopolitical factor: China is now the foreign actor with the largest presence in the Venezuelan oil industry, at a time when the Trump administration is trying to curb Beijing’s influence in the Western Hemisphere.
Trump has never hidden his interest in Venezuelan crude oil. After leaving the White House, he regretted that attempts to oust Maduro during his first term had been unsuccessful and claimed that Venezuela was “ready to collapse.” As it turned out, this time the Venezuelan government even offered to reopen the oil sector to American companies, but retained political control over the concessions. The White House rejected this alternative.
The combination of deadly attacks, military action, economic pressure and oil blockade reveals a high-risk strategy aimed at shutting down sources of funding for the Maduro government and redefining the balance of power in the Caribbean. The question is whether this escalation will achieve its political objectives or, on the contrary, whether it will deepen the conflict without offering a clear solution, while increasing the human and diplomatic costs of the confrontation.
ff
About The Author
