Hubert Odias, Freelance Writer.

As the daily tensions between the United States and Venezuela are escalating, will their enmity culminate in a full-scale war?

In a 1999 press release, the U.S. Department of Justice had indicted President Nicolas Maduro and 14 other Venezuelan officials on charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.  Then, on August 7, 2025, U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi put a $50 million bounty on Maduro for allegedly partnering with FARC and other drug cartels.  Are those serious charges against a sitting president possibly reminiscent of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s possession of weapons of mass destruction?  Or, if with that, there is irrefutable evidence, those charges do justify a foreign intervention, but not necessarily a military one.

With the United States ramping up military activities in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, the situation has become both volatile and dangerous.  If war breaks out, the leading causes the United States claims include drug trafficking, anti-democratic governance, and corruption.  But some critics of President Donald Trump stated that his main goal in Venezuela is geopolitical and economic.

Recently, the Trump administration has informed Congress about its military campaign in the Caribbean against drug cartels.  He perceived those drug cartels as narco-terrorists and unlawful armed combatants.  However, legal experts warned that the U.S. administration has no apparent authority to apply military force against drug cartels. Also, most Americans prefer that the U.S. administration return to the traditional practices, such as interdiction and seizures, rather than military operations that may endanger innocent lives.

However, the U.S. military even gets bolder and more aggressive.  Besides striking 21 boats and killing 80 people, the U.S. Navy has deployed 15000 military personnel, three aircraft carriers, including the USS Gerald R. Ford to the region.  Also, in the Caribbean Sea between Trinidad and Venezuela, a significant U.S. military exercise has been underway.  Some military analysts who have some weird feeling about this military buildup are wondering if this is all a precursor to a direct attack on Venezuela.

The U.S. administration needs to fight the drug war on two fronts: at home, where there are a lucrative drug market and the American customers who have an insatiable appetite for drugs. Also, the U.S. government needs to take the fight to the production sites of the drug cartels. This drug war can only be effective and successful when those addicted are left starved of it and the cartels are unable to produce, ship, and deliver their deadly cargoes.

The statistics of drug overdose in the United States are alarming. Out of the American population of 340,110,000, in 2024 alone, 81,700 people died of drug overdoses. Fentanyl, the most lethal of all the drugs, represents the primary cause of drug overdose deaths in America. According to a report, Black, Latino, and Indigenous people and those with low incomes are more likely to die of drug overdoses. Maduro and others, beware!

In turn, Maduro has been preparing for war with the United States. On Sep. 15, 2025, he deployed military, police, and civilian defenses at 284 battlefront locations across the country with military assistance from Russia, China and others.

Additionally, Russia has supplied Venezuela with a wide range of weaponry, including BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, Su-30MK2 fighter jets, S-300V, surface-to-air missile systems, and various other air defense and armored vehicles such as T-72B1 tanks. Venezuela has also acquired advanced Chinese L-15 fighter jets, amphibious vehicles and communication systems.

With such a significant military buildup in the Caribbean, will the United States attack Venezuela? If it does, will Russia and China get involved to defend Maduro and their interests in Venezuela? Those two allied countries have too much invested in Venezuela to remain passive in a direct U.S. attack on the country. How the Russians and Chinese would respond is a one-million-dollar question. If they engage in a military fight alongside Venezuelan troops, that will be World War III.

China has a lot at stake in Venezuela. It has a strategic partnership with Maduro’s government, where it lends him billions of dollars and also invests heavily in Venezuelan oil, while providing him with military and diplomatic backing. Moreover, Russia’s interests in Venezuela encompass both geopolitical objectives, such as counterbalancing U.S. influence in Latin America, and economic benefits, primarily derived from its energy sector.

Illegal drugs represent a cancer in our society. As far as the United States attacking Venezuela, nobody knows. But for the sake of humanity, peace must always supersede war. Unfortunately, “the war on drugs has failed, and it is time to rethink our approach to drug policy.” Therefore, Trump and Maduro, instead of fighting each other, should put down their arms and jointly engage in the war on drugs with a common purpose.

Source: Washington Post.