US escalates tensions with Venezuela, bombs boat 'carrying drugs'; Maduro slams 'regime change' attempt - Another war soon?

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Aug 2) announced that American forces had bombed a “drug-carrying” vessel in the southern Caribbean, after it departed from Venezuela, killing eleven on board. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the ship was run by a "designated narco-terrorist organisation" - the Tren de Aragua gang. This marked a major escalation of tensions between the US and Venezuela after America stationed three warships off the Venezuelan coast last month. The US also increased the bounty on Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro to a whopping $50 million - more than what it offered for Osama Bin Laden. Meanwhile, Maduro has slammed the American attempts at alleged 'regime change' in Venezuela and said that he was ready to “declare a republic in arms” if attacked by US forces.

Read More | '$50 MILLION REWARD': Who is Nicolás Maduro and why is Venezuelan President wanted in US?

What's happening?

Donald Trump- the 'peace president' - as the White House calls him, has found a new enemy in its backyard, except that this one is not so new! The fight between the US and Venezuelan leader Maduro has been going on for years. Recently, the Trump administration has upped the ante against Maduro by increasing the bounty on him and calling him the 'biggest and most powerful drug trafficker.' It has even deployed at least eight Navy ships, including Aegis-equipped guided-missile destroyers—USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson—off the Venezuelan coast. Interestingly, the move came just days after the Maduro government and the Trump administration celebrated a prisoner exchange and the resumption of Venezuelan oil exports through Chevron. For Trump, Maduro is no new enemy, but the focus of his administration on him has definitely been a sudden one.

Read More | US offers whopping $50 million for Nicolas Maduro's arrest, Venezuela hits back with 'Epstein Files' jibe

In his first term, the US president attempted to use “maximum pressure” on him via economic sanctions. He even recognised Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president. The strategy failed amid an internal political crisis in Venezuela and Guaidó's own attempt to negotiate with Maduro. He was later charged with money laundering and treason, and an arrest warrant was issued against him. However, before the warrant, he had already fled the country. The White House said earlier that the current deployment is to intercept small, fast boats carrying cocaine - one such boat has already been targeted in a 'lethal strike.

So, is the White House preparing a full-blown military strike? White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the president was “prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice”. She added that Maduro is not a legitimate president but - "fugitive head of this drug cartel.” Will this escalate into an overnight war?

Read More | Why has US stationed 3 warships off Venezuela coast? Nicolas Maduro slams 'regime change attempts'

How Maduro reacted?

In a rare news conference in Caracas, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro said that his country is facing the biggest threat seen in South America in a century but will not bow to it. He called Venezuelans 'warriors' who are ready for “maximum rebellion” against any incursion. Directly naming the US President, Maduro slammed Rubio and said that he wants to stain Donald Trump's hand with blood. In what may be said as striking the weak spot, Maduro invoked Trump's Nobel Peace Prize dream, warning that Rubio "wants the last name Trump to be stained with blood for centuries." “They are seeking a regime change through military threat,” Maduro told journalists.

Why is Maduro wanted in the US?

In 2016, two nephews of Maduro’s wife Cilia Flores - Efraín Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de Freitas - were convicted in a US court for conspiracy to import cocaine. To prove their closeness to Maduro, it was claimed that the duo used presidential airport terminal regularly. It was also alleged that some of the drug trafficking proceeds helped fund Maduro’s 2013 presidential campaign and possibly the 2015 parliamentary elections. After their arrest by the US Drug Enforcement Administration in 2015, Maduro condemned the operation as an "imperialist attack."

Later, the US sanctioned Venezuelan minister Diosdado Cabello and former Vice President Tareck El Aissami, for involvement in drug trafficking, corruption, and links to terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force. In 2018, the US Treasury accused Maduro and Cabello of directing drug trafficking activities. In March 2020, the US Department of Justice charged Maduro and other Venezuelan and Colombian officials with “narco-terrorism,” alleging they orchestrated cocaine shipments to America to harm public health. Meanwhile, the nephew duo were released in 2022 as part of a prisoner exchange.

Deja Vu from Panama invasion

The escalation of tensions between the US and Venezuela reminds critics of the US invasion of Panama in 1989. Like this one, that operation was also aimed at ousting another Latin American ruler accused of drug trafficking - General Manuel Noriega. However, the Trump administration wants the world to believe that its action in Venezuela isn't an invasion. Juan Cruz, Trump’s top Latin America adviser in his first term and, the one who was involved in the Panama invasion, said, “There’s been a lot of predictable overreactions, some of it deliberately orchestrated,” he said. “I’ve been in a US invasion. This is not a US invasion.” Whatever the US intentions, Maduro is cautious. In his responses to the US, he has invoked China, clearly sending a message to Washington that he is not alone. He has touted people's support to the armed forces and the police and has already declared that Venezuelans are the ones who will defend their “beloved Venezuela.”