Tensions between Washington and Caracas have surged after US President Donald Trump warned Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro that refusal to step down voluntarily could trigger the use of American military force.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump delivered a stark ultimatum during a hotline call on 22 November, telling Maduro he could take the “easy way or hard way," offering safe passage to a friendly capital or face direct US action.
Tensions between Washington and Caracas have surged after US President Donald Trump warned Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro that refusal to step down voluntarily could trigger the use of American military force.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump delivered a stark ultimatum during a hotline call on 22 November, telling Maduro he could take the “easy way or hard way," offering safe passage to a friendly capital or face direct US action.
In recent months, US forces have carried out more than 20 strikes on boats Washington claims were ferrying narcotics, resulting in over 80 fatalities. However, no physical evidence has been released to verify that the vessels carried drugs, deepening concerns about the legality and intent of the operations. Venezuelan officials insist the US campaign is designed not to target cartels but to topple Maduro.
The deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and supporting assets to the Caribbean underscores Washington’s readiness to escalate. Trump has hinted that land-based operations inside Venezuela could begin “soon," pointing to the threat of force is no longer merely rhetorical.
Venezuela’s foreign ministry condemned Trump’s comments as hostile and destabilising, accusing Washington of attempting to impose regime change under the guise of counter-narcotics operations. Maduro, whose 2024 re-election was rejected by much of the international community as fraudulent, remains defiant, portraying the crisis as another chapter in the nation’s long struggle against US interventionism.
The US designation of the “Cartel de los Soles", which Washington alleges includes senior military figures and Maduro himself, as a foreign terrorist organisation has widened the legal and military latitude available to American agencies. For Caracas, it represents an unprecedented step towards formalising a justification for direct intervention.
The decisive trigger came this November when Trump labelled the entire Venezuelan government a terrorist entity, a move that shattered any remaining diplomatic channels.
Washington’s terms are blunt – Maduro must leave office before Christmas, with safe passage granted to Havana, Moscow or another allied capital, along with access to a negotiated share of offshore assets. If he refuses, the US is prepared to initiate operations that could dismantle the regime within weeks.
Maduro has already rejected the offer. Fuel reserves inside Venezuela have reportedly dropped to 18 per cent, commercial airspace is effectively frozen, and mid-level officers are said to be exploring defection deals. US special operations aircraft are now positioned in Aruba.
Source: News18