Blatant aggression: On the Trump administration and its Venezuela actions

In a brazen admission, U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed authorising covert CIA operations in Venezuela targeting the government of Nicolás Maduro. This escalation follows weeks of deadly strikes on boats in Caribbean waters, threatening to destabilise the region by violating fundamental principles of international law. The prospective actions fall under a grim historical pattern of actions by the CIA — the 1954 coup in Guatemala, the Bay of Pigs disaster in Cuba, the orchestration of the 1973 coup in Chile that resulted in President Salvador Allende’s death and the Contra wars in Nicaragua in the 1980s. Such interventions have led to catastrophic consequences such as decades of instability, democratic backsliding and authoritarian rule, leaving scars across Latin America. Mr. Maduro’s disputed election victory in 2024 has compounded his regime’s economic mismanagement which, combined with sanctions, has devastated Venezuela’s economy. In recent years, millions of Venezuelans have been forced to flee because of the crisis, with many undertaking perilous journeys through Colombia, the dreaded Darién Gap and Mexico to reach the U.S. The refugee influx has provided the Trump administration with ammunition to weaponise the immigration issue and to issue claims about Venezuelan drug trafficking to up the ante against the Chavistas, as the followers of former President Hugo Chávez are called. Mr Trump has repeatedly, without proof, characterised Mr. Maduro as a “narcoterrorist”, alleging that the country operates as a drug corridor, with criminal trafficking organisations under his control. This has been contradicted by the U.S. intelligence agencies, much to Mr. Trump’s disapproval, leading to consequences such as the firing of a National Intelligence Council director who refused to alter his assessment of the drug issue and the Maduro regime.

It is not difficult to ascertain the true motive of the Trump administration — to control Venezuela’s massive petroleum reserves and substantial natural gas deposits. The fact that Caracas has maintained strong trading relations with Russia and China, and close ties with the U.S.’s bête noire, Cuba, also presents a geopolitical challenge to American hegemony in the region — this has also explained the hostility by preceding American administrations but none was as brazen as Mr Trump is. This is not to absolve the Maduro regime. Its authoritarian trajectory and manipulation of electoral processes deserve international censure. But acknowledging these failures does not justify illegal U.S. intervention. The international community must resist the Trump administration’s recourse to illegal and Cold War-era regime change policies and instead pursue diplomatic solutions that respect Venezuelan sovereignty while supporting its genuine democratic forces. Venezuela must determine its future without external intrusion.