If you’re watching military flashpoints in the Western Hemisphere, Venezuela is once again taking center stage. The arrival of three U.S. Navy destroyers—USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson—along with thousands of Marines in Caribbean waters near Venezuela, is more than just another counternarcotics patrol. It’s a clear signal of force projection that has regional governments and international observers on edge.
The stated goal of Washington is straightforward: to ever the flow of drugs into the United States. Counternarcotics has been a core principle of American policy for a long time, and the present endeavor has behind it a $50 million bounty for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. American prosecutors indicted him for running the eponymous “Cartel of the Suns,” and authorities have made no secret of adopting the position that Maduro is not a legitimate president but an indicted fugitive implicated in smuggling drugs into U.S. cities.
Yet the presence of this operation signifies something more than simple drug interdiction. Accompanying the destroyers are P-8 Poseidon patrol planes, an attack submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, and the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group carrying the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit—some 4,000 Marines standing by for rapid-response missions by sea, air, or land. Officially, they are surveillance and intelligence forces. But influential voices in Washington have suggested that “targeted strikes” remain an option should the word come down.
Maduro, typically, has retaliated with outraged defiance. He announced the mobilization of more than 4.5 million members of the Bolivarian National Militia, urging them to battle for the sovereignty of Venezuela with rifles and missiles.
Standing in front of state television, standing before a wall of military brass, he exhorted workers, pensioners, and the countryside to take up arms as part of what he calls a “people in arms.” While the government paints the militia as popular guardians, experts note that the majority who join are impoverished Venezuelans enticed by the promise of assistance from the state.
The violence has radiated outward. Maduro has sent 15,000 soldiers to the border with Colombia, banned drone flights over the country, and stepped up naval patrols to protect oil shipment routes. He also appealed directly to the United Nations, calling on member states to condemn what he calls U.S. aggression. Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro threatened that any attack on Venezuela would be seen as an attack on the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean, appealing for regional unity against violence.
At the same time, Russia doubled its assistance to Caracas. Moscow provided S-300 air-defense systems, military instructors, and independent security contractors under the Wagner network. Russian nuclear bombers have landed on Venezuelan runways in past gestures of power, and cooperative military exercises highlighted the depth of that bond. Russian oil interests remain tied to Venezuela’s weakened energy sector as well, cementing the alliance.
Energy politics is another aspect of the confrontation. Venezuela’s oil wealth and Guyana’s rapidly expanding reserves have drawn the attention of the multinational giants. ExxonMobil’s operations in contested Guyanese waters put it at odds with Maduro’s claims, while Chevron’s continued dealings with Venezuela have been criticized as a lifeline to the regime. Washington think tanks, often accompanied by different corporate interests, are conflicted as to whether engagement or maximum pressure is the best strategy for the future.
All this against Venezuela’s ongoing decay. Economic collapse, medicine and food shortages, and an unprecedented exodus reordered daily life. Millions have left, and with another presidential election looming, fears of fraud and repression persist. For ordinary Venezuelans, the global struggle for power only heightens a crisis years in the making.
The United States still maintains the hemisphere’s biggest military presence through bases, training exercises, and Southern Command dominating operations. But prospective powers are closing in, and resources are lean. Russia’s direct military sales may have decreased as Venezuela’s economy disintegrated, but political and security leverage remains well cemented. Across the hemisphere, nondemocratic regimes are presenting opportunities for outside powers willing to balance Washington’s hegemony.
Finally, the presence of American warships off Venezuela’s coast is more than an anti-narcotics mission. It’s a powder keg in a broader fight for oil, ideology, and access. With militias amassing, foreign patrons entrenching, and American military forces on alert, the cost of regional security and national defense has never been higher.