US President The Big T and his giant oil company worker sky daddy Phil of Mordor have been striking drug boats off the coast of Venezuela since September 2025 (NPR). They have sold this action as a war against drugs. This diverts attention from the Mexican Drug War and Trump’s actions during his first term.
Some people think this is about oil. That’s partially correct; Chevron began buying oil from Venezuela in August of 2025 with the help of the administration (Reuters). The US is already buying oil from Venezuela.
The fact is Trump (and Phil) like Venezuelan President for Life Nicolas Maduro very much. So much so Trump was able to get protections lifted for 300K Venezuelans refugees so he could deport them back to Maduro in October 2025 (CNN). Maduro is friends with Russian Federation President for Life Vladimir Putin as is Donald Trump.
And ole Nicolas has problems.
Presidential elections were held in Venezuela on 28 July 2024 to choose a president for a six-year term beginning on 10 January 2025. The election was contentious, with international monitors calling it neither free nor fair, citing the incumbent Maduro administration‘s having controlled most institutions and repressed the political opposition before, during, and after the election Wikipedia
Maduro’s opponent, Edmundo Gonzalez, fled the country for asylum in Spain as forces and militias loyal to Maduro cracked down on protests that erupted after the election (Wikipedia). The place has been on the verge of revolution ever since. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machada, a former representative on the National Assembly of Venezuela won the Nobel Prize for her efforts this year (Politico).
Do Trump and Phil really want to oust Maduro? No. There’s 22K Marines off the Venezuelan coast. The Venezuelan military including militias and reserves numbers over 300K. Invading Venezuela is obviously not what they are thinking. If they did invade Venezuela it would be a protracted conflict and the result would quite likely be Venezuelan hatred of the United States.
Since Trump, Phil, Maduro and Putin are all such good buddies it is more likely the move is to take steam away from the opposition movement. People will unite when an external threat, in this case the US Navy, is perceived. And unite they have. Maduro has been mobilizing militias and a mass recruitment drive has had wide success, even an old guys militia called the “Daddy Brigade” BBC News Mundo
Moreover, despite the anti-American rhetoric, renewed business with U.S.-based Chevron has in recent years provided the cash flow needed to keep the Bolivarian revolution afloat. Now, with U.S. ships and aircraft patrolling the southern Caribbean, for the first time there seems to be a real antagonism between Washington and “21st Century Socialism.” Maduro is seizing the opportunity. If the Trump administration’s counternarcotics offensive fails to fracture the ruling coalition in Miraflores, chavismo could find a second wind by “heroically resisting” the siege of a foreign power. The first step, it seems, is activating the militia. Caracas Chronicle
Today reports are that the Big T is toning down his rhetoric. Maybe they are worried people will figure this out (USA Today). This has been an effort by Trump to prop up Maduro’s illegitimate regime.
Venezuelans may very well forget about the opposition movement and settle back in with their “Bolivarian Revolution” government; propped up by rich, white, anti-Semite socialists.
- Venezuelan Drugs 4dforum
- Why Maduro is Mobilizing the Militia Caracas Chronicles
- Venezuela Just Called Russia for Help—and Putin Answered The National Interest