The escalation, as we’ve argued, has nothing to do with the drugs trade and everything to do with Venezuela’s huge deposits of oil, gas, gold and other minerals.
The Donald J Trump administration is, not for the first time, on a mission to topple the Nicolás Maduro government in Venezuela. And it’s willing to use whatever means necessary, including murder on the high seas. However, serious doubts are being raised about the legality of its actions — including, interestingly, by some mainstream media outlets.
On Wednesday, the New York Times published an article outlining how the Venezuelan speed boat allegedly destroyed (as far as I’m aware, Venezuela’s Maduro government still questions the veracity of the video) by US missiles in the Caribbean last week “had altered its course and appeared to have turned around before the attack started”:
´[T]he people onboard had apparently spotted a military aircraft stalking it, according to American officials familiar with the matter.
The military repeatedly hit the vessel before it sank, the officials added, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. President Trump has said he authorized the strike and claimed the boat was carrying drugs.
The disclosures provide new details about a military operation that was a startling departure from using law enforcement means to interdict suspected drug boats. Legal specialists who have called it a crime to summarily kill suspected low-level smugglers as if they were wartime combatants said the revelations further undercut the administration’s claim that the strike was legally justified as self-defense.
“A Novel Argument”
So far, the Trump administration has presented no evidence to corroborate its claims that the 11 people on board the boat were transporting drugs heading to the US and were part of a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. Recent revelations suggest that the boat was actually heading to Trinidad and Tobago, and could have been carrying drugs, fisherman or migrants. We will probably never know since all the physical evidence has been vaporised.
Instead of providing a detailed legal rationale for its actions, the Times notes, the Trump administration has “put forward the outlines of a novel argument that using lethal military force was permissible under the laws of armed conflict to defend the country from drugs because 100,000 Americans die annually from overdoses.”
This may be enough to sway some, perhaps even many, in the MAGA base, for whom the US’ opioid epidemic is, understandably, an important issue. But that does not make it legal. As Nick Turse reports for The Intercept, the lethal strike was a criminal attack on civilians, according to a high-ranking Pentagon official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Trump admits he ordered a summary execution — the crime of murder. Drug traffickers are not combatants who can be shot on sight. They are criminal suspects who must be arrested and prosecuted. https://t.co/bCGD2KNmhg
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) September 2, 2025
2/ Senate report:
“Official torture and SUMMARY EXECUTION violate standards accepted by virtually every nation. The universal consensus condemning these practices has assumed the status of customary international law.”https://t.co/Nly2vmtsVB
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) September 6, 2025
As we have documented in previous posts (here, here and here), Venezuela is a relatively small-part player in the drug trafficking business. Over 85% of the world’s cocaine supply is transported via the Pacific, from ports in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Meanwhile, Trump’s own claims that the Tren de Aragua gang is under Maduro’s control is contradicted by a declassified Department of Justice report.
Trump claims that the strike targeted members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. He also claims the gang is “under the control of Nicolas Maduro,” but that contradicts a declassified US intelligence memo that says Maduro’s government doesn’t control TDA (link in reply) pic.twitter.com/9S0uYMOEvi
— Dave DeCamp (@DecampDave) September 2, 2025
More important still, almost all drug deaths in the US are caused by fentanyl, not cocaine, and Venezuela does not even feature as a manufacturer or transit country for that drug. In other words, the US could launch all-out war on Venezuela’s drug traffickers — and visit all manner of death and destruction on the country itself — and barely save an American life.
The Ecuadorian Connection
These days, the world’s leading exporter of cocaine is Ecuador, which is only a transit country and whose government is one of the US’ closest allies in the region.
Ecuador’s US-born and raised president, Daniel Noboa, is the heir to a banana empire exporting $3.5 billion annually. As we have reported before, subsidiaries of the Noboa Corporación have been caught trafficking hundreds of kilos of cocaine to Europe via its banana shipments between 2020 and 2024:
According to an investigative report by the magazine Raya, Noboa Trading Co., a banana producing and trading firm belonging to the Noboa family, one of the richest in the country, has been caught on three occasions concealing hundreds of kilos of cocaine in cargos of bananas destined for Europe.
This is the way by which much, or even most, of the cocaine transported from Ecuador reaches Europe: through the banana trade. Although the police seized the shipments in flagrante delicto, those allegedly involved, including members of the Noboa family, have not faced justice. From Progressive International:
“Part of the investigation was revealed last weekend by Ecuadorian journalist Andrés Durán, who, after disclosing several official documents containing reports on the drug seizure, had to leave the country due to death threats and legal harassment from the ruling political party, Movimiento Acción Democrática Nacional (ADN).
In an interview with Revista RAYA, Durán spoke about his investigation and his departure from Ecuador:
“This is the first documented case in Ecuador’s history in which a presidential family is allegedly involved in cocaine trafficking. The Noboa family controls the entire chain of the banana export business, from planting and harvesting to transportation and private ports. There is no doubt that the death threats are closely linked to this investigation.”
During his recent visit to Ecuador, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, an Ecuadorian journalist points out the inconvenient fact that Ecuador, not Venezuela, is the main transit route for cocaine trafficking, as documented by the UN’s annual drug report. Rubio responding by saying he doesn’t care what the UN says.
🚨🇺🇸BREAKING — Rubio: “I don’t care what the UN says” — U.S. Senator Wants Venezuelan Oil. pic.twitter.com/k9389JcW3h
— Pamphlets (@PamphletsY) September 4, 2025
Here’s a cartoon that nicely sums up the situation: the US drops a bomb on a tiny fishing boat while four massive ships sail on by unimpeded. The one on the far left represents the US and Western banks that launder the proceeds of drug trafficking; the one next to it, Ecuador’s banana consignments; the one next to that, the transnational drug cartels; and the one on the far right, the US’ insatiable demand for narcotics.
#Narcotráfico #EEUU #LatinoAmerica #Vilmatraca pic.twitter.com/8wiPzgU3p7
— Vilmatraca (@vilmavargasva) September 5, 2025
In recent days, the Gray Zone has delved into the CIA’s historic ties with drug trafficking generals — the supposed founders of what came to be designated as the Cartel de los Soles — back in the 1990s:
The Trump admin accuses Nicolas Maduro of leading the now-defunct Cartel of the Suns
Diego Sequera explains how the CIA directed its top Venezuelan asset to ship tons of cocaine into US cities during the early 1990’s
The CIA asset was known as leader of “Cartel of the Suns” pic.twitter.com/aWlfhyr22i
— The Grayzone (@TheGrayzoneNews) September 10, 2025
Here is the original 60 Minutes episode on the fallout from the quickly buried and forgotten scandal:
Here’s the 1993 60 Minutes report on how the CIA recruited a Venezuelan military officer, General Ramón Guillén Davila, to help them ship 22 tons of cocaine into American cities
The Cartel of the Suns disappeared once it lost its utility to the CIA, and was resurrected by the… https://t.co/sLou9YUA1I pic.twitter.com/XW69D6MK17
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) September 10, 2025
Congress MIA
Meanwhile, the US Congress is once again missing in action as another military misadventure looms, this time in the US’ “backyard”. However, there are a few grumblings of disquiet, mainly from Republican Party members, as Connor Echols reports for Responsible Statecraft:
The rapid escalation seems to have put Congress on the back foot. While many lawmakers moved quickly to condemn Trump’s attacks on Iran earlier this year, strikingly few members of Congress have shown the same level of enthusiasm when it comes to Venezuela.
Responsible Statecraft reached out to 19 congressional offices about the campaign but only heard back from Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who simply shared a statement asking a series of questions about the goals and legality of the strike. (Smith later used stronger language, accusing Trump Thursday of trying to start “a war with Venezuela.”)
A smattering of other lawmakers have put out statements condemning the strikes. Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) lamented that Trump launched the campaign without congressional authorization and called on Congress to act in order to avoid a new “forever war.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), for his part, told Newsmax that “it isn’t our policy just to blow people up.” But Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)—all of whom often rail against presidents for starting conflicts without consulting Congress—have so far stayed silent on the issue.
While they stay silent, the US’ executive branch continues to escalate.
The Trump admin is escalating the hybrid war on Venezuela into a conventional war:
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told US troops on a warship off Puerto Rico that they’re being sent to the “front lines”, and it isn’t training.
This is neocolonialism.https://t.co/mkcnFvhoyh
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) September 9, 2025
Puerto Rico is now a key staging area in the US’ military manoeuvres in the Caribbean, with the US sending 10 F-35 fighter jets and the USS Iwo Jima to the island, which is neither a sovereign nation nor a US state. During Hegseth’s visit, Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer Gonzalez (Rep) tweeted:
We thank @POTUS Trump and his Administration for recognizing the strategic value Puerto Rico has to the national security of the United States and the fight against drug cartels in our hemisphere, perpetuated by narco-dictator Nicolas Maduro. We are proud to support America First policies that secure our borders and combat illicit activities to protect Americans and our homeland.
While on board the USS Iwo Jima on Monday, Hegseth told the ship’s crew:
“What you’re doing right now – it’s not training. This is the real-world exercise on behalf of the vital national interests of the United States of America to end the poisoning of the American people.”
Another Decapitation Strike?
Later on, Hegseth was asked by Fox and Friends whether the end goal is regime change in Venezuela, to which he responded that the Pentagon is “prepared with every asset that the American military has” should Trump choose to move forward with such an operation. Trump, for his part, has rejected the notion that the troop deployment’s are aimed at regime change while refusing to rule out targeted strikes against cartels inside Venezuela.
Asked by a reporter if he was considering attacking “cartels” inside Venezuela, Trump responded ambiguously, saying only, “Well, you’re going to find out.”
Given the size and sophistication of the forces being deployed to the Caribbean, regime change is clearly the goal. As Alex Chistoforou suggested on the Duran, the operation may b similarities with the US and Israel’s recent attempted decapitation strike against Iran.
As with Iran, such an operation would presumably involve raining down as much chaos inside Venezuela as possible, with targeted attacks against senior members of Maduro’s government, the armed forces and other key establishment figures. Mercenary forces would probably pour in from neighbouring Guyana and Colombia. As readers may recall, Erik Prince last year set up a social media-based fundraiser aimed at toppling Maduro with an army of private mercenaries.
The question is: if all this were to happen, would Venezuela’s senior military command defect in sufficient enough numbers to bring down the government? It didn’t happen in the former coup attempts of 2002 and 2019, or in Iran a couple of months ago.
In his interview on Useful Idiots, Vijay Pashad drew comparisons with the US’s 1964 “Brother Sam” operation, when the US Navy and Air Force stationed a squadron off the coast of Brazil as a show of support for a military coup against the left-leaning Goulart government. What followed was two decades of brutal military dictatorship, which would form part of the Operation Condor campaign of state terror staged throughout South America’s Southern Cone.
It’s worth recalling, as NC reader Alice X reminded us yesterday, that the first September 11 took place in Chile in 1973, when US-backed General Augustín Pinochet deposed Salvador Allende, the left-wing, democratically elected leader, in a violent coup.
On this day in 1973, Salvador Allende, the progressive, democratically elected leader of Chile, was attacked and deposed in a US-backed coup that installed the right-wing dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. pic.twitter.com/myPvMrNrgr
— Jason Hickel (@jasonhickel) September 11, 2025
Then, as now, the US government had a secretary of state (Henry Kissinger) who was also moonlighting as the president’s national security advisor — in other words, a chief diplomat hellbent on war. Today’s mould, Marco Rubio, has made it his mission to overthrow not just Venezuela’s government but also those of Cuba, Nicaragua and any other left-leaning government that doesn’t bow to US interests.
It looks like US authorities may be closing in on Mexico’s former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which will be the subject of my next post. It will also be interesting to see how Trump responds to the Brazilian Supreme Court’s sentencing of his close friend and kindred spirit, Jair Bolsonaro, to 27 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of plotting a military coup.
One thing that is clear is that Washington is now more focused on Latin America. If one chooses to believe the conclusions of a draft of the US War Department’s newest National Defense Strategy, Washington may even be shifting its focus away from its two primary peer rivals, China and Russia, in order to prioritise perceived threats in Latin America and the Caribbean.
From The Cradle:
A draft of the newest National Defense Strategy places “domestic and regional missions above countering adversaries such as Beijing and Moscow,” Politico revealed, citing three people briefed on early versions of the report.
The news comes one day after Trump signed an executive order for the Department of Defense to be renamed the “War Department” to better reflect its mission.
Politico notes that the move, if implemented, would anger politicians in both the Republican and Democratic parties who have long been hostile to China and called for aggressive policies to counter its rise.
“This is going to be a major shift for the U.S. and its allies on multiple continents,” said one person briefed on the draft document. “The old, trusted US promises are being questioned.”
The document was prepared by Elbridge Colby, the War Department’s policy chief.
Politico reports that the shift away from China and toward the Western Hemisphere appears to be already underway.
The idea of the US empire withdrawing from Africa and Asia to focus on its immediate environs, while no doubt a relief for Africans and Asians, can only bode ill for the US’ neighbours.
The reactions of different governments in the region to the US’ latest escalations against Venezuela have been instructive. So far, as far as I can tell, five countries have designated the supposed Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organisation: Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic and Peru, all of them hermetically aligned with Washington.
Readers will be shocked to learn that the European Parliament has also approved a resolution calling on the EU to designate the supposed cartel as a terrorist organisation. In other words, the coalition of the depraved (can’t remember who I got that from, but it’s a keeper) continues to grow, one crawling US vassal state at a time.
Meanwhile, the president of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (aka Lula) said this at the BRICS Virtual Summit, held on Monday:
Latin America and the Caribbean has made the choice, since 1968, to become free of nuclear weapons. For almost 40 years we have been a Zone of Peace and Cooperation.
The presence of the armed forces of the world’s greatest power in the Caribbean Sea is a factor of tension incompatible with the peaceful vocation of the region.
The President of Colombia Gustavo Petro this week sent a clear message to Trump: “Colombia will never be used to invade Venezuela”. Petro acknowledged Venezuela’s ongoing political problems since last year’s disputed elections, for which reason neither he nor Lula have recognised the Maduro government. But he was also emphatic in his rejection of a US attack:
How can we allow an invasion of Venezuela? Yes, there is a political problem there… But it needs to be resolved through discussion — by Venezuelans.
For its part, China, which already imports 90% of Venezuela’s oil, is doubling down on its investments in Venezuela’s oil industry. Beijing is also heavily invested in Venezuela as a whole, having lent the country $60 billion — more than all other Latin American countries combined.
The real cause of US aggression against Venezuela is a 20 year $1 billion joint development programme with China to restore Venezuelan oil exports to 60,000 barrels per day.
Chevron would not profit as before.
Meanwhile US oil production has plateaued. Active rigs are just… https://t.co/XLnq2YTXo1 pic.twitter.com/gsU9NM5Z4u
— Kathleen Tyson (@Kathleen_Tyson_) September 7, 2025
As we have been arguing for the past three weeks, the US’ latest escalation against Venezuela has nothing to do with the drugs trade and everything to do with Venezuela’s huge deposits of oil, gas, gold and other mineral resources.
“Venezuela, once the ‘ranchito’ of the Rockefeller family, is written with a ‘P’, for ‘petroleo”‘, says the Mexican-Lebanese geopolitical analyst Alfredo Jalife.
There are, of course, other reasons (Venezuela’s close ties to China, Russia and Iran; its populist, left-wing policy agenda; the fact that it receives most of its oil money from China in yuan…) which we discussed in detail in our article, What Are The Real Reasons Behind Washington’s Latest Show Of Force Against Venezuela?.
However, there is one other reason we didn’t mention: the Chavista government’s refusal to back down. The US and its vassallies in Europe have thrown almost everything they can at Venezuela’s Chavista government, barring direct military assault or invasion — until now — and it’s still standing.
Washington has tried to directly overthrow the government twice, in 2002 and 2019, with embarrassing results. It has stirred up violent protests, sent in mercenaries, imposed across-the-board sanctions that caused tens of thousands of deaths, according to a 2019 study by Mark Weisbot and Jeffrey Sachs, and even confiscated the country’s gold, all to no avail.
By 2021, government income in Venezuela had shrunk by a staggering 99%, forcing the country to live on 1% of its pre-sanctions income, according to a report by the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR). Yet the Maduro government remains standing and the economy is actually growing again. And that is a flagrant violation of basic imperial etiquette.
