TRANSCRIPT:
"In waging this war on narco-terrorists, we're willing to go on the offence. Go on the offence in a way that changes the dynamic for the entire region."
Over the last few weeks, the United States government has moved over a dozen warships and about 15,000 U-S troops into the Caribbean region as tensions with the Venezuelan government escalate.
So, could the United States really be preparing for war or is this merely political posturing?
Well, when it comes to Donald Trump, it can be difficult to say what is and isn't possible.
But, if you believe some of his threats and the warnings from President Nicolás Maduro, a boots-on-the-ground military assault could be on the cards.
“In recent weeks you have been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many. We've almost stopped. It's about 85 per cent stopped by sea. You probably noticed that. And we'll be starting to stop them by land also. But that's going to start very soon. We warned them, stop sending poison to our country.”
"We must be capable of defending every inch of this blessed land from any imperialist threat or aggression, wherever it comes from and whenever it comes. Alert, alert!"
Accusations that the Venezuelan government has supported and facilitated drug trafficking efforts into the U-S has been central to the Trump administration's rhetoric and has fuelled a months-long deadly campaign of U-S strikes on boats off the coast of Venezuela.
More than 20 U-S strikes on vessels in the Caribbean since September have killed at least 83 people who U-S officials have accused of being so-called "narco-terrorists" without providing evidence.
United Nations' Human Rights Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani says the strikes clearly violate international law.
"Airstrikes by the United States of America on boats in the Caribbean and in the Pacific violate international human rights law. These attacks and their mounting human cost are unacceptable."
Trump officials have described President Maduro as the leader of a terrorist group and deemed his regime illegitimate after a contested election result last year [[2024]].
Mr Maduro won a third term in the July 2024 election but international election monitors have raised serious questions about reports of voter intimidation and a lack of transparency over how the votes were ultimately tallied.
On Saturday [[29 Nov]], President Trump ratcheted up tensions, saying in a Truth Social post: "Please consider the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela to be closed in its entirety."
The declaration reportedly came after the expiry of a safe passage offer President Trump gave Mr Maduro over the phone last month [[Nov, according to Reuters]], giving him one week to leave Venezuela with his family.
This move has outraged residents in Venezuela's capital Caracas, including sociologist Maribel Guedez.
"The sovereignty of no country is respected anymore, and this is going to put Latin America in crisis, because an invader comes in, and that's what Trump has in his mind. I don't know what else he has planned. It's an abuse, an abuse of power. Just because you see yourself as a global power, you're going to close someone's skies? Look, we already have a naval blockade, and now an aerial blockade. Imagine the magnitude of that!"
The U-S has named its mission in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean "Operation Southern Spear" and has deployed the U-S-S Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier.
A Reuters visual investigation has also revealed the U-S military is upgrading a long-abandoned former Cold War naval base in the Caribbean, that they say suggests preparations for sustained operations inside Venezuela.
President Maduro has called this gunboat diplomacy.
"Our diplomacy is not gunboat diplomacy, of threats. Because the world cannot be the world of 100 years ago again. The gunboat diplomacy: I have so many cannons, so many ships, and I put them in front of you and you surrender or do what I feel like making you do. No, that’s over."
Meanwhile, U-S Attorney General Pam Bondi claims:
"He is one of the largest narcotraffickers in the world and a threat to our national security. Therefore, we doubled his reward to $50 million. Under President Trump's leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes."
Javed Ali is an Associate Professor at The University Of Michigan and former senior U-S Counterterrorism Official - and says an invasion would be a very controversial move among the American public.
"Public support in the US for military action does not seem to be high, and this may be another factor that the administration is thinking through, because if we are going to go to war in Venezuela to unseat the regime, that is even very different that the boat strikes that have been happening since September. I do not think the American public for the most part is opposed to those, as they are about a full scale military invasion of Venezuela."
For many in the South American region, fears of U-S intervention stem from a real and bloody legacy of invasions and political interference in the 20th century.
This includes efforts by the C-I-A to help attempts to destabilise and overthrow governments in countries including Cuba, Chile, Guatemala, Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil.
There were also more direct military interventions in the failed U-S invasion of Cuba in 1961, as well as the invasions of Grenada in 1983 and Panama in 1989 - both of which saw the respective governments overthrown.
Professor Ali highlights this last example in particular, which saw the U-S remove Panama's military leader Manuel Noriega from power after accusing him of drug trafficking.
"The parallel that I keep going back to is potentially something that would look like the invasion of Panama in 1989 which involved even more US forces than are in the region now. So is that sort of the goal? Or it's all trying to demonstrate to President Maduro that it is either you leave the regime now, and perhaps dictate some terms that are somewhat agreeable, or there will be a full-scale military operation to unseat you."
President Maduro and his government have always denied all criminal accusations and say the U-S is seeking regime change for personal gain.
Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez tells the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries [[OPEC]] the Americans are attempting to seize control of her country's oil reserves.
"Venezuela formally denounces before this body that the government of the United States of America intends to take control of Venezuela's vast oil reserves, the largest on the planet, through the use of lethal military force against the territory, the people and the institutions of the country. This claim not only contradicts the provisions governing peaceful coexistence between nations, but also seriously endangers the stability of Venezuelan oil production and the world market."
Director of the Americas Program and head of the Future of Venezuela Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Ryan C Berg, says he believes an invasion is unlikely.
"I think it's unlikely to happen for two reasons. First, it doesn't fit with President Trump's modus operandi. President Trump forswore long-term, open-ended engagements with boots on the ground, going all the way back to his 2016 campaign. And I don't think it's in his modus operandi today either. It should also be noted that it doesn't fit the pattern of the deployment. Although the deployment has been very large, it hasn't featured a number of potential ground forces."
Whatever the next steps are for the United States, President Maduro is hoping to prepare for a potential attack while pleading for peace.
"Listen to me: not war, just peace. The people of the United States. Peace, forever, forever, forever." *Music starts*
