On August 7, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a dramatic increase in the bounty for information leading to the capture of Venezuela’s left-wing President, Nicolas Maduro, raising it to an astounding $50 million. The Trump administration has labeled Maduro as “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world,” accusing him of leading the Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), which the U.S. designates as a global terrorist organization. In July, the U.S. Treasury Department further alleged that the Maduro regime enables “narco-terrorism” through groups like Cartel de los Soles. Bondi also asserted Maduro’s connections to other criminal organizations, Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, both considered terror groups by Washington.
On September 2, President Donald Trump announced an airstrike targeting an alleged drug smuggling vessel in the Caribbean. Since then, the U.S. has conducted multiple strikes in Caribbean and Pacific waters against boats believed by the Trump administration to be carrying illicit drugs, resulting in at least 57 fatalities. This marks an unprecedented military buildup in the Caribbean, with approximately 10,000 U.S. troops already deployed. This force includes two Jima Amphibious Ready Groups with over 4,500 Marines and Sailors, three guided missile destroyers, an attack submarine, a special operations ship, a guided missile cruiser, and various reconnaissance aircraft.
Adding to this formidable display, the Pentagon recently redirected the USS Gerald Ford, the Navy’s cutting-edge aircraft carrier, to the Caribbean, carrying approximately 5,000 personnel. Furthermore, the U.S. has stationed at least 10 F-35 fighter jets and three MQ-9 Reaper drones in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory less than 1,000 kilometers from Venezuela’s coast. In a notable show of force in October, a pair of supersonic B-1 Lancer bombers, known for their immense payload capacity, conducted flights near the Venezuelan coastline.
The Primary Target
This substantial troop deployment and the ongoing strikes off Venezuela’s coast leave no doubt about the Trump administration’s true objective: the Maduro regime. Venezuela has historically served as a critical transit point for drug traffickers, particularly from Colombia, a major global source of cocaine. Accusations of Venezuelan military officers’ involvement with cartels predate the rise of the Chavistas (followers of former President Hugo Chavez) in 1999. These cartels wield significant influence across Venezuela, Colombia, and other regional nations. However, according to a Crisis Group report, the Cartel de los Soles, which the Trump administration claims Maduro leads, is not a “hierarchical, ideologically driven drug trafficking organization.” Instead, it is described as a “profit-based system of generalized corruption involving high-ranking military figures.”
Despite these serious allegations, the Trump administration has not publicly presented concrete evidence to support its claims that Mr. Maduro directly leads the cartel or that his government is actively involved in drug production and trafficking. Earlier this year, U.S. intelligence reports cited by media outlets reportedly found no definitive links between Maduro and the Tren de Aragua criminal syndicate. Nevertheless, the administration appears resolute in increasing pressure on the Venezuelan leader, whose government maintains strong alliances with Russia, China, and Iran. Notably, Mr. Trump recently confirmed authorizing a covert CIA operation within Venezuela.
The Strategy Unfolds
While Mr. Trump’s first administration formally charged Maduro and his inner circle with drug trafficking, the current approach elevates the anti-Maduro campaign to a military dimension. The White House is increasingly focusing on Latin America, its traditional sphere of influence, where it has intensified political and economic pressure on left-leaning governments. Simultaneously, it has offered substantial economic aid to Javier Milei’s far-right libertarian government in Argentina. Trump officials perceive Maduro as significantly weaker now compared to five or six years ago. Following accusations of rigging the May 2025 election to cling to power, Maduro confronts a revitalized right-wing opposition, spearheaded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, who openly supports Trump’s policy of severe sanctions and military threats against Venezuela. Numerous Trump allies have publicly urged Maduro to resign and leave the country.
Despite the massive $50-million bounty on his head and the intense U.S. military pressure, Mr. Maduro’s administration remains intact, supported by the military, and he claims to have mobilized militias to “defend” Venezuela. The crucial question now is: what will Mr. Trump’s next move be? Speculation abounds that the U.S. might target Venezuela’s military infrastructure under the guise of an expanded war on drugs, with the ultimate goal of further destabilizing the regime. While Mr. Trump stated on October 30 that he was not considering strikes on Venezuelan soil, his track record suggests that inconsistency can be a strategic tool rather than a weakness. For instance, in June, he declared the U.S. was nearing a “pretty good agreement” with Iran on its nuclear program, cautioning Israel against undermining it. Yet, within a day, Israel bombed Iran, and shortly thereafter, Mr. Trump joined the conflict.