US Clash with Venezuela: Trump’s Regime Change Pursuits Are Sheer Havoc
Why does Donald Trump seek to oust President Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Caracas? It's not easy to come up with a sensible explanation.
The latest breach of the law by President Donald Trump's government comes as no surprise. A week after the U.S. seized an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast, Trump orders a naval blockade against “sanctioned” cargo ships. International maritime law is explicit: Even if oil tankers smuggle crude oil under false flags, states are prohibited from arbitrarily detaining them beyond their territorial waters.
Rather than being about oil, the blockade represents a measured political escalation against the Caracas regime. Conversely, U.S. investors interested in Venezuela’s natural resources are angling for a deal with Maduro. Ideological motives are not the main factor in the push for regime change. According to the new U.S. security strategy, the assumption is that Latin America is willing to work with governments that hold different political views.
While Secretary of State Marco Rubio is regarded as a hard-liner who sees an ideological enemy in the left-leaning authoritarian regime in Caracas, Trump appears to be genuinely focused on the fight against drugs. This is the case even though Venezuela plays a negligible role — if any — in drug trafficking to the U.S. Logic doesn't explain the American president's policies. The desire to project power is surely an important factor.
On the one hand, Trump wants to scale back the U.S. military's global presence; on the other, he boasts about the full force of the U.S. Armed Forces. This has resulted in demonstrative attacks, such as the ones in June against Iran's nuclear facilities — or possibly soon in Venezuela, if Maduro doesn’t buckle under the pressure. Trump is unlikely to want a large-scale deployment of ground troops. We can only hope that it doesn’t escalate into a roughly coordinated campaign of airstrikes. Such measures could not only topple the regime but also plunge Venezuela into chaos.
The latest breach of the law by President Donald Trump's government comes as no surprise. A week after the U.S. seized an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast, Trump orders a naval blockade against “sanctioned” cargo ships. International maritime law is explicit: Even if oil tankers smuggle crude oil under false flags, states are prohibited from arbitrarily detaining them beyond their territorial waters.
Rather than being about oil, the blockade represents a measured political escalation against the Caracas regime. Conversely, U.S. investors interested in Venezuela’s natural resources are angling for a deal with Maduro. Ideological motives are not the main factor in the push for regime change. According to the new U.S. security strategy, the assumption is that Latin America is willing to work with governments that hold different political views.
While Secretary of State Marco Rubio is regarded as a hard-liner who sees an ideological enemy in the left-leaning authoritarian regime in Caracas, Trump appears to be genuinely focused on the fight against drugs. This is the case even though Venezuela plays a negligible role — if any — in drug trafficking to the U.S. Logic doesn't explain the American president's policies. The desire to project power is surely an important factor.
On the one hand, Trump wants to scale back the U.S. military's global presence; on the other, he boasts about the full force of the U.S. Armed Forces. This has resulted in demonstrative attacks, such as the ones in June against Iran's nuclear facilities — or possibly soon in Venezuela, if Maduro doesn’t buckle under the pressure. Trump is unlikely to want a large-scale deployment of ground troops. We can only hope that it doesn’t escalate into a roughly coordinated campaign of airstrikes. Such measures could not only topple the regime but also plunge Venezuela into chaos.
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