Why Is Trump Bombing Venezuelan Boats?
On September 2, the U.S. military carried out the first and second deadly strikes on a Venezuelan boat in the Caribbean on direct orders from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Although no clear evidence has been provided, the Trump administration alleged that the targets were narco-terrorists carrying drugs on their boat. Two of the crew survived the first strike, which led to a second attack issued by the special operations commander of the mission, Admiral Frank Bradley. It was reported by the Washington Post that Bradley was complying with Hegseth’s verbal command, that came before the strikes, to kill all people on board.
In the last few months, the U.S. military has performed targeted strikes on at least 20 other alleged drug smuggling boats, resulting in over 80 deaths. Critics, including some House and Senate lawmakers, are calling for reviews of the boat strikes and raising the question of whether they should be considered as a war crime or murder. If the situation played out as reported by the Washington Post, then it is a clear violation of the DOD’s laws and international laws of how you treat an open water situation with defenseless survivors.
It has been reported that these strikes may be part of a military pressure campaign led by the Trump administration to get Venezuela dictator Nicolas Maduro to relinquish power. Trump has publicly accused Maduro’s government of drug-trafficking and terrorism, more specifically blaming Maduro for sending fentanyl that has contributed to the American opioid crisis. Trump also blames Maduro for the rise of Venezuelan migrants in the United States. The administration has gone as far as doubling the reward for information leading to the capture of Maduro to $50 million.
On December 10, the U.S. military escalated tensions when they seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. The vessel was reportedly carrying Venezuelan crude.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the vessel has been on the United States’ radar for years “due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.”
President Trump offered little detail on the rationale behind the mission, simply stating it was “for very good reason.”
The Venezuelan government has denounced the seizure and describes it as an “act of international piracy.” They released a statement which accused the U.S. of attacking them for ownership of their natural resources after Trump claimed they stole U.S. “oil, land, and other assets.”
The statement says this claim reveals the real motivations behind the attacks, “In these circumstances, the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed. It is not migration. It is not drug trafficking. It is not democracy. It is not human rights. It has always been about our natural wealth, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people.”
Venezuela’s rich natural resources include vital mineral wealth which can be used for advanced technology and energy manufacturing, substantial hydroelectric power generation capacity, 17.5% of the global total of proven oil reserves, totaling around 303bn barrels, and 221 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, making them owners of the 7th largest amount of natural gas reserves in the world.
While the tanker isn’t directly related to the strikes, it is another example of U.S. naval expansion in the Caribbean as part of an attempt to push Maduro out of power in Venezuela. The U.S. has deployed 15,000 troops and a variety of aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers, and assault ships to the Caribbean, including the United States’ largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford. Trump has also declared the airspace around Venezuela closed.
Trump’s press secretary has not denied the possibility of U.S. troops being deployed on Venezuelan ground as Trump has threatened to take action against the country’s drug traffickers “by land.” She told reporters that “there’s options at the president’s disposal that are on the table.”
While there is currently no clear plan of operations involving the U.S. declaring war or deploying troops, military analysts have pointed out the fact that current U.S. deployment in the Caribbean is much larger than what is typically needed for counternarcotics missions.
