Venezuela Denounces U.S. “Imperialist Escalation” as Warships Gather in the Caribbean

CARACAS — President Nicolás Maduro appeared on national television this week flanked by his defense minister and closest lieutenants, warning that Venezuela was facing its most serious external threat in decades. The address came as U.S. destroyers and support ships converged in the Caribbean Sea and American surveillance flights resumed from Curaçao, part of what the White House has described as a renewed “full force” campaign against what it calls the Maduro “narco-terrorist cartel.”

From Caracas, the moves are being painted very differently: as an illegal act of aggression aimed at regime change. Maduro, who has long dismissed U.S. indictments against him as politically motivated, described the latest deployments as “gunboat diplomacy,” warning that hesitation among his own commanders would be treated as betrayal. “Loyalties are renewed every day,” he declared on his televised talk show Con Maduro+. “In times of decision, hesitation is treason.”

A Long Arc of Tensions

The escalation follows years of hostility between Washington and Caracas. Since 2019, the United States has refused to recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate president, backing instead opposition leader Juan Guaidó. In 2020, federal prosecutors in New York indicted Maduro on charges of narco-terrorism and offered a multimillion-dollar reward for his arrest. That bounty was raised last month to $50 million.

American officials now argue that the Venezuelan state itself has become a criminal enterprise. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, recently called Maduro “a fugitive and head of a narco-terrorist cartel,” vowing that President Trump “is prepared to use every instrument of American power to prevent drugs from reaching our country.”

Venezuela’s Counter-Claims

Venezuelan leaders reject those accusations outright. Officials point to United Nations reporting that only a fraction of narcotics bound for North America pass through Venezuelan territory, accusing Washington of manipulating drug data as a pretext for military escalation.

Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López announced that Venezuela’s most advanced naval assets — patrol vessels, missile boats, and drones — have been deployed in the Caribbean to monitor U.S. movements. “We will not permit foreign warships to threaten our sovereignty,” he said. Foreign Minister Yván Gil urged the United Nations to condemn the American build-up, calling it “a destabilizing threat to the entire region.”

The Regional Dimension

Washington insists that its deployments are part of a multinational counter-narcotics operation, though no U.N. mandate exists. The Netherlands, which allows U.S. forces to operate from Curaçao, has come under criticism from Caracas for enabling surveillance flights along Venezuela’s coastline.

Reactions across Latin America remain split. Colombia and several Caribbean nations have quietly supported U.S. counter-narcotics operations. Cuba, Nicaragua, and Bolivia have rallied behind Maduro, portraying the naval presence as evidence of continuing imperial overreach in the hemisphere.

An Uneasy Balance

For Venezuelans, the standoff carries immediate consequences. The government has placed the armed forces on alert, and state media emphasises images of warships and fighter aircraft mobilized along the coast. Ordinary citizens, still struggling with inflation and shortages, are left to weigh the risks of confrontation.

Maduro, often underestimated but still in control of both the military hierarchy and the ruling party, has framed the moment as existential. “These are times of decision,” he told his audience. “Venezuela will defend itself with dignity.”

Whether the latest American show of force marks the prelude to direct confrontation or remains a pressure tactic is not yet clear. But in Caracas, the message from the government is unambiguous: Venezuela sees itself not as a cartel under siege, but as a sovereign state resisting foreign aggression.

Video Sources: Specific Leavitt briefing clip (timestamped link) and Official White House Press Briefings Playlist .