The Chavismo leadership has remained silent following a message from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announcing through X Publications the start of a US military operation to “drive out narco-terrorists” from the Western Hemisphere. No details have been released about what the operation, dubbed “Spear of the South,” means for Latin America and Venezuela in particular, but it is another step in US escalation in the Caribbean, where the world’s largest warship has just arrived.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro spoke this Thursday, but before the announcement. In a statement, the Chavez leader accused the United States of “persecuting” young Venezuelan immigrants, while “they threaten Venezuela with invasion.” In any case, he called for reconciliation, defending that Americans and Venezuelans should “unite for peace on the continent.”
President Maduro, who declared the military to be on maximum alert, urged President Donald Trump: “No more forever wars, no more unjust wars, no more Libya, no more Afghanistan.” And he repeated it over and over again in rudimentary English.Yes, it’s peaceful. ”
A day before Hegseth’s announcement, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado said a “decisive moment” was approaching in the country and predicted “profound changes.” Speaking at a virtual forum of former Ibero-American presidents of the IDEA group, Machado declared, “The days ahead will be very difficult, but we are no longer afraid of what others believe is impossible,” before betting on rebuilding a “devastated country.”
Machado, I’m on the phone. iron lady The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, a member of the staunchest anti-Chávez current, asserted that the country was “on the threshold of freedom” and assured that Venezuela’s planned transition to democracy “will take place peacefully.”
While Venezuela’s leader anticipates a critical moment for his country (as he has done on other occasions), the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford joined dozens of aircraft and warships already in the Caribbean region in a declaration of war on drug trafficking that underlies the intention to remove Maduro from power.
Some political observers inside and outside Venezuela (especially on social networks)
Although America’s military superiority is incomparable to Venezuela’s, Chavismo can retreat and form guerrilla fronts, or seize entire areas of the country and foment chaos with a variant of terrorism inspired by guerrilla warfare.
According to this interpretation, it is a mistake to think that US intervention will create the “domino effect” that some imagine.
On the contrary, as Machado’s speech suggests, many Venezuelans abroad tend to think that no one will come forward to fight for Nicolás Maduro, a leader with little popular influence but strong military support, if foreign powers intervene to thwart his mission, especially after allegations of fraud in last year’s presidential election.
The opposition majority, which has great faith in President Machado’s words, has ruled out any scenario of uncontrollable violence if Maduro falls. If the decisive moment to open the floodgates to democracy comes, the ability to hold meetings and even the loyalty of military leaders is in question.
Generally speaking, there is a widespread belief in the democratic camp that US operations in this country will not last very long.
In any case, Donald Trump’s letter has yet to be discovered. Despite the military escalation, the US president remains cautious about intervening in Venezuela. A military invasion would likely lead to bloodshed on both sides and would likely fail to achieve its undeclared objective of toppling Maduro. According to US media, Trump’s team has presented him with several options for moving beyond attacking suspected drug ships in the Pacific. From air raids to the direct removal of Chavismo leaders. According to CNN, President Trump continues to weigh the risks and benefits of expanding military operations.
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