The US naval buildup off Venezuela's coast is not about drug interdiction, but imperial pressure. Caracas's response, grounded in asymmetric defense and bolstered by key Eurasian alliances, has transformed a lopsided showdown into a contest of global powers.

The US naval buildup off Venezuela’s coast is not about drug interdiction, but imperial pressure. Caracas’s response, grounded in asymmetric defense and bolstered by key Eurasian alliances, has transformed a lopsided showdown into a contest of global powers.

The US has entered a new phase in its long war on Venezuela. Having exhausted economic and diplomatic tools, it has now turned to the military lever, dispatching warships to the Caribbean in a naked display of force.

This escalation caps years of imperial targeting of the Bolivarian government in Caracas – beginning with sweeping sanctions under former US President Barack Obama, tightened to unprecedented levels under President Donald Trump, and sustained through bipartisan consensus.

Officially, Washington frames this as part of a broad “counter narcotics” campaign targeting so-called terrorist organizations. But that story collapses under scrutiny. What the US really seeks is regime change and regional control, thinly veiled behind drug war rhetoric.

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