Trump and Maduro are amassing military forces as tensions rise in the Caribbean

2025-10-18 09:39:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

While President Donald Trump is considering military action inside Venezuela, building up forces in the Caribbean and deploying B-52 bombers off the country's coast, Nicolas Maduro is responding in kind, repositioning troops, mobilizing "millions" of militia and denouncing US activity in the region.

Both leaders are trapped in a difficult situation.

Trump administration officials have privately acknowledged that the escalating U.S. pressure campaign is aimed at toppling Maduro, a goal that was also a goal of Trump's first term in office, when the White House recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate president in 2019.

But as the Trump team ramps up the pressure this fall, Maduro has ramped up his rhetoric and propaganda for Venezuelans, calling for new military exercises by the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, which has about 123,000 members.

In recent weeks, the US military has moved warships and other weapons to the region and targeted ships off the coast of Venezuela that it says are transporting drugs. Trump acknowledged that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela and said the United States was considering strikes on Venezuelan territory.

Maduro has claimed that his volunteer militias now have more than 8 million reservists, although experts have questioned this number, as well as the quality of the troops' training.

Since October 17, 20 of Venezuela's 23 states have been militarized as part of Maduro's military mobilizations, dubbed Independence 200.

The Trump administration has been quietly preparing the ground for possible military action inside Venezuela for months by linking Maduro to drug traffickers and cartels that officials have designated as terrorist groups that pose an immediate threat to the United States.

But to date, there is no indication that Trump has decided to take that step or to directly target the Venezuelan leader.

Instead, the goal has been to pressure Maduro to resign himself, the sources told CNN, in part by creating a credible threat of US military action if he does not do so.

The recent attacks against suspected drug ships in the Caribbean are a clear message to Maduro, the sources said, noting that the administration has been very deliberate in linking the Venezuelan leader to trafficking groups and cartels.

Trump said Wednesday he authorized the CIA to operate inside Venezuela to stop the flow of migrants and drugs from the South American nation, but stopped short of saying they would try to overthrow Maduro.

The comments are Trump's most extensive on his decision to expand the CIA's authority to conduct lethal strikes and covert operations in the region, which CNN first reported last week.