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By Amira El-Fekki
Middle East News Reporter
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President Donald Trump’s deployment of warships off Venezuela and the administration's continuing pressure on President Nicolás Maduro, considered to be Venezuela’s illegitimate leader, has heightened speculation about looming U.S. military action in South America.
The strategy is emerging as part of a wider push to reestablish American primacy in the Western Hemisphere. The United States says it will reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the hemisphere, the White House’s new National Security Strategy states.
James Monroe’s 1823 doctrine declared the Americas a U.S. sphere of influence, opposing European powers and paving the way for interventions across Latin America.
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Below are three signs the standoff between Washington and Caracas is intensifying.
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Escalation Heats Up
The U.S. plans to intercept more Venezuelan oil shipments after seizing a tanker this week, ramping up pressure on Maduro, sources told Reuters Thursday.
This follows an escalatory seizure of a sanctioned oil cargo vessel off Venezuela's coast that put shipowners, operators and maritime agencies transporting Venezuelan crude on high alert, according to the agency. Maduro denounced the seizure as an "act of international piracy."
Besides moving from sanctions to tanker seizures, the Trump administration has strongly defended its military campaign targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, even amid criticism over civilian deaths. More than 80 people have been killed in over 20 strikes.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently testified the Venezuelan tanker seizure was tied to the Trump administration’s Latin America counterdrug campaign, calling it "a successful operation" to ensure that "we’re pushing back on a regime that is systematically flooding our country with deadly drugs," according to The Associated Press on Thursday.
The U.S. has also announced a series of new sanctions targeting Maduro's family.
Military Posture
Flight-tracking data and open-source intelligence analysts report an uptick in air force activity and aircraft movements near Venezuela this week. The U.S. military will deploy F-35 aircraft to the Caribbean in support of Operation Southern Spear, the U.S. campaign that Washington says is aimed at disrupting narcotics networks, according to the specialist military outlet The War Zone.
Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets, B-52 strategic bombers and electronic warfare EA-18G Growlers, part of the air wing aboard the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, have been flying patrols near Venezuela.
The overall military deployment represents around 15 percent of the entire U.S. Navy, according to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and includes thousands of troops and sailors that are conducting exercises simulating strikes on Venezuelan targets.
"The president’s tolerance of Maduro appears to be wearing increasingly thin," CFR President Michael Froman wrote in an analysis last week.
Increasing Threats
While Maduro has been singing and dancing to invoke peace, he said he will defend his country's sovereignty and resources with the Venezuelan army swearing in 5,600 soldiers on Saturday, according to media reports. Maduro says the real purpose of the U.S. military operations is to force him from office and that Washington wants Venezuela's oil.
Trump is threatening to order "land strikes" on targets in Venezuela and recently told Politico that Maduro's "days are numbered." He said Thursday the U.S. will carry out imminent strikes on Venezuela to intercept alleged narcotics shipments from the country.
"It's going to be starting on land pretty soon," Trump said, without specifying further.
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