Maduro Warns Trump Against ‘Forever War’ As US Military Buildup Near Venezuela Intensifies

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

CARACAS/WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Venezuela’s authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro has urged U.S. President Donald J. Trump not to drag America into an Afghanistan-style “forever war” as Washington expanded its most significant military deployment in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama.

Speaking outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, the capital, the 62-year-old Maduro appealed for de-escalation after the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, arrived in the region. “No more forever wars. No more unjust wars. No more Libya. No more Afghanistan. Long live peace,” he told supporters at a pro-government rally.

Hours later, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear, declaring that “the Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it.” He said the Southern Command mission aimed to defend the U.S. homeland and curb “the drugs that are killing our people.”

The timing of Hegseth’s announcement puzzled observers, coming ten months after U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command had already signaled the operation’s launch using “a heterogeneous mix of robotic and autonomous systems” to detect trafficking in the Caribbean.

Analysts said the declaration may be a political rebranding of Trump’s broader pressure campaign against Maduro, which has included a series of deadly U.S. strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific. Officially, Washington frames the massive deployment as part of its “war on drugs.”

PRODUCING COCAINE?

However, Venezuela does not produce cocaine—sourced mainly from Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru—and is not a central fentanyl transit point, raising questions about Washington’s fundamental objectives, critics say.

U.S. military officials reportedly had presented Trump with options for possible operations inside Venezuela, including land strikes, although no final decisions were made.

Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil issued a defiant warning to Washington: “Don’t you dare. We are ready.”

Maduro’s regime has prepared “guerrilla-style” resistance plans for any U.S. attack, involving small military units at more than 280 locations carrying out sabotage and irregular warfare, according to sources familiar with the situation.

A second strategy, dubbed “anarchisation,” reportedly envisions intelligence-linked groups sowing chaos in Caracas to make the country ungovernable for any foreign force.

The standoff marks one of the most serious escalations in U.S.–Venezuela relations in decades, with fears rising that what began as an anti-narcotics campaign could slip into a broader military confrontation aimed at toppling Maduro.

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