Relations between the United States and Venezuela are becoming strained after Donald Trump directed the attacks on purported Venezuelan drug boats in international waters, resulting in 14 casualties in two aerial attacks. Instead of stopping the boats as he has done previously, without showing evidence to hold the sailors, and calling them “narco-terrorists,” Trump is hitting boats directly, as a pre-emptive policy proposal, and is sending 10 F-35 jets to Puerto Rico, seven ships, and a submarine in the vicinity.
There are four motivations for this policy. (1) the hardline push from Marco Rubio against leftist regimes like Nicolás Maduro, (2) Trump wanting to appear tough on drugs, (3) wanting to counter China’s extensive relations to Venezuelan arms and oil, and (4) ideological objection to leftist regimes. Trump left it open he could possibly attack mainland Venezuela, to which Maduro commented on his aggressiveness, and later inquired about the bounties placed on him by Trump and the United States. Venezuela does not have the military ability to retaliate against Trump’s threats, and thus this crisis could continue escalating.
