The United States may wish to remove many of its adversaries from power, but it does not typically send its soldiers to physically remove them. Venezuela’s sudden awakening took two forms. Its residents were abruptly jolted awake by the sound of massive explosions: the noise of American strikes targeting military infrastructure in its capital, Caracas.
Consequently, the government is now certain that U.S. military intervention for regime change is no longer just a stale threat. U.S. President Donald Trump stated that its leader, Nicolás Maduro, has been arrested and transported to the United States, where he faces American trial on weapons and drug charges.
The United States has not engaged in direct military intervention in Latin America like this since its 1989 invasion of Panama to remove then-military leader Manuel Noriega. At that time, as now, Washington framed the matter as part of large-scale measures to shut down drug trafficking and criminal terrorism.
The United States has also long accused Maduro of managing a criminal drug-trafficking organization, an allegation he has strictly denied. It listed him as part of a foreign terrorist organization, the “Cartel de los Soles” (Cartel of the Suns)—the name the U.S. uses to describe a group of Venezuelan elites accused of coordinating illegal acts such as drug trafficking and illegal asset seizure.
The Maduro government has been accused of human rights violations for years. In 2020, UN investigators said his government committed “grave violations” amounting to crimes against humanity, such as extrajudicial killings, torture, violence, and enforced disappearances—implicating Maduro and other senior officials. Human rights organizations have recorded hundreds of political prisoners in the country, including some detained after anti-government protests.
This new operation, directly targeting a sovereign capital, marks a major step in the expansion of American involvement in the region. The removal of Maduro will be celebrated in a coordinated fashion by some hardline figures in the U.S. administration, some of whom suggested that only direct intervention could oust Maduro from power.
Washington has not recognized him as the country’s president since the 2024 elections. Following the elections, the opposition published electronic voting results that they claimed proved they, and not Maduro, were the winners. The outcome was deemed neither free nor fair by international election observers, and opposition leader María Corina Machado was barred from participating in the elections.
However, for the Venezuelan government, the intervention underscores what it has long claimed—that Washington’s ultimate goal is regime change. Venezuela has also accused the United States of wanting to “steal” its oil reserves, which are the largest in the world, and other assets—an accusation felt to be confirmed after the U.S. seizure of at least two oil tankers off the coast.
The attacks and the arrest followed months of U.S. military buildup in the region. The United States sent its largest military reinforcements in decades to the area, consisting of warplanes, thousands of troops, helicopters, and the world’s largest destroyer. It conducted dozens of attacks on suspected small-scale drug transport vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, resulting in at least 110 deaths. Today’s actions have cleared any lingering doubts that those operations were at least partially aimed at regime change as well.
What remains deeply obscure is what will follow inside Venezuela itself. It appears that the United States wants the Venezuelan opposition to take power—likely led by opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, or the 2024 opposition candidate Edmundo González.
But even some strong critics of Maduro warn that the matter will not be as simple as loosening the government’s grip on power. It controls the judiciary, the Supreme Court, and the military—likely along with powerful armed groups known as “Colectivos.” Some feel that the U.S. intervention may trigger a violent fragmentation and long-term power struggle. Even some who dislike Maduro and want to see him gone view the American intervention with caution—recalling decades of U.S.-backed coups and regime changes in 20th-century Latin America.
The opposition itself is also divided in parts—not everyone aligns with a transition to Ms. Machado or her support for Trump. It is not clear what the next step for the United States will be. Will it push for new elections? Does it intend to remove other prominent members of the government or military and bring them to justice in the United States?
Regarding Trump, his administration has become more expansive in the region, including financial pressure on Argentina, tariff increases on Rio de Janeiro to influence the coup trial of Trump’s friend and former conservative Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and now the military intervention in Venezuela. He benefits from having allies in the region now, with the continent shifting toward the right in recent elections, such as in Ecuador, Argentina, and Chile. However, while Maduro has no major allies left in the region, large powers like Brazil and Colombia do not support U.S. military intervention.
Additionally, some of his MAGA base in the United States is unhappy with the increasing escalation after he promised to “put America first.” For those close to Maduro, these events raise sharp questions and fears about their own future. They may not want to surrender the fight or allow a transition unless they feel they can secure some form of protection or safety from retaliation.
United News Network – UNN Arabic
An independent media platform providing reliable news and objective analysis, seeking to promote peace and cultural dialogue around the world to convey the truth and build bridges of understanding between peoples.
For more news, you can visit our homepage:
