What is the motivation of US millitary action near Venuzuela?

On September 2nd, 2025, US millitary action on a vessel from Venuzuela killed 11 people claimed to be carrying illegal drugs. The US conducted at least three military attacks on vessels in international waters said to be carrying narcotics en route to the United States.

Venezuela strongly denied involvement in facilitating large-scale trafficking of narcotics to the US. 

Critics question the evidence for US claims, whether the Venezuelan state is complicit at a high level, and whether these strikes conform to international law especially when lethal force used in international waters without clear judicial process. Venezuela government accused US actions are false-flag operations. 

For an anti-drug operations push, the US moved warships, fighter jets (including F-35s), and other naval assets into the southern Caribbean and placed the operations under US Southern Command’s area of responsibility. 

International observers anticipate an invasion of Venuzuela combating drugs as merely another WAMD excuse for the real intention for oil. Historically, the US was behind the destabilisation and political turmoils of oil rich countries especially in the Middle East.

Military presence for drug operations?

So far, no credible sources confirm any full-scale invasion by the US military. The actions are more limited: naval and aerial presence, strikes on specific vessels, increased deployments in international waters and adjacent seas. 

Venezuela have neither been occupied, nor do US forces appear to have entered Venezuelan territory in a combat capacity. The US says its operations are in international waters with the goal of interdicting drug trafficking.

The US government has designated certain Venezuelan criminal organizations such Tren de Aragua as terrorist or “narcoterrorist.” It claimed to have intelligence and evidence for these drug-boat strikes, but as of now, many outside experts say these claims have not been independently verified.

International organisations and drug‐trafficking experts suggest Venezuela is involved to some degree, but that it is not one of the biggest producers or transit points compared to say Colombia or Mexico. Some reports suggest only a small percentage of US-bound cocaine transits from Venezuela.

Whether such lethal strikes in international waters are legal under international law is being debated. The issues include whether due process is met, what constitutes a legitimate “narcoterrorist” target, and how claims of sovereignty are handled. 

Venezuela claims its sovereignty is being infringed and says the US is using these operations to justify possible future aggression. Tensions are high and there’s political posturing on both sides, military build-ups, accusations of wrongdoing, and retaliatory rhetoric.

China influence

The view is that the US is really after Venezuela’s oil, or trying to reduce China’s influence. 

China has been a major buyer of Venezuelan oil, especially since US sanctions limited other buyers. US secondary tariffs have targeted countries that purchase Venezuelan oil, including China, indicating concern in Washington about where Venezuelan oil is going. 

The US government have not renewed Chevron’s earlier broader license to operate in Venezuela; its operations scaled back or tightly restricted. Some permits let them maintain infrastructure but not fully operate as before. 

These restrictions reduce US corporate presence in Venezuela’s oil industry, effectively weakening U.S. leverage in favor of other actors such as China, and Russia, who continue to engage with Venezuela. 

US military deployments and warships near Venezuela could threaten or constrain Venezuela’s oil exports, especially to China. There are concerns that the show of force could backfire and push Venezuela closer to China. 

President Maduro explicitly said that the US is using the “drug trafficking” pretext to seize control of Venezuela’s resources (oil, gas, gold). Venezuela rejected US measures and licenses as efforts to control, and manipulate its oil industry. 

Multiple strategy

There is no confirmed evidence that the US is planning or undertaking a territorial takeover of oil fields, or a full‐scale occupation to directly control the oil infrastructure. 

Official US statements continue to frame its military operations as targeting drug trafficking. It has also denied that it seeks regime change, even as many analysts interpret the pressure as pushing toward that. 

Even without military invasion, the US could resort to other means such as sanctions and trade restrictions on Venuzuela to reduce revenue, limit investment, hamper oil exports. And, Chinese and other buyers could circumvent restrictions; oil fields are physically and logistically difficult to take over. The political costs are high. 

US military pressure and sanctions seemed intended to reduce Venezuela’s ability to sell oil to China, or to use trade as leverage. However, it could be more about US domestic politics for Trump to show toughness on drugs, and border security. 

It is combined with geopolitical competition with China/Russia, rather than a fully thought-through plan to seize oil.

Venezuela and China view the US moves as a threat to their mutual interests, and both condemned it as interference, coercion or efforts at economic strangulation. There is credible reason to believe oil and China form part of US options for restriction, sanction, or diplomatic pressure. 

The current operations do not clearly show an overt plan to invade for oil in the sense of military occupation of oil fields or direct expropriation. The likelihood is that the US is using multiple strategic goals.

The curbing of drug trafficking is an excessive justification, weakening the perception of bad governance in Venezuela, reduce Chinese influence, and limit Venezuela’s use of oil revenue to support its regime in ways Washington disapproves of.

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China's bold move reshapes Latin America’s energy dynamics

China & Three BRICS Allies Back Venezuela Against US Energy Sanctions Banditry

As the Trump regime escalates US sanctions aimed at isolating Venezuela, China has stepped in to help the Latin American nation with infrastructure, investment, and skilled workers. China has also consistently condemned the US sanctions and Trump's latest aggressive military buildup in the Caribbean Sea as illegitimate foreign interference.

Venezuela joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2018, embedding itself in this key global infrastructure strategy. However going back to 1999, China and Venezuela have signed more than 600 agreements spanning energy, infrastructure, defense, and technology, all arguably reducing US influence in Latin America.

In the face of the escalation of the US trade war, China has massively reduced its energy imports from the USA, cutting oil by approximately 90% since 2023 and in 2025 halting all imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Marking a significant shift in energy trade relations, China has diverted its energy imports to other suppliers, including Venezeula, Iran, Russia and other US competitors such as Australia and Canada, as well as Saudi Arabia.

In a bold move that reshapes Latin America’s energy dynamics and defies US sanctions, China Concord Resources Corp (CCRC) has deployed a $1 billion floating oil facility in Lake Maracaibo, western Venezuela. The project, a 20-year production-sharing agreement with Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, aims to pump 60,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) by late 2026—up from the current 12,000 bpd.

China is already a significant partner in Venezuela's oil trade, with around 90% of Venezuela's oil exports directed to China. This relationship has strengthened since the mid-2000s, particularly as Venezuela has sought to pivot away from Western markets due to politically motivated, US inspired sanctions.

The agreement between Venezuela and the China Concord Resources Corp aims to help revive oil production in Venezuela. The partnership is part of China's efforts to stabilize and enhance Venezuela's oil production capabilities amidst ongoing economic difficulties, and in the face of US attempts to undermine China's own energy security and economic growth.

The Trump regime, on September 2, 2025, carried out an unprovoked military strike on a Venezuelan vessel that killed 11 civilians. This aggression followed the mid-2025 deployment off at least four US warships to the Caribbean Sea, close to Venezuelan waters.

Washington framed the buildup as part of its "counter-narcotics operations", a US false flag attack targeting Venezuela. The move also coincided with mounting agitation by the Trump regime following Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, which saw the re-election of Nicolás Maduro.

While Trump issues all sorts of racially-inspired rants about "drug trafficing", the US aggression and sanctions are actually about attempting to unleash "regime change" on the people of Venezuela, which happens to have the largest oil ️reserves in the world. That's what the United States wants.

Venezuela's known reserves of oil are estimated at 303 billion barrels (Bbbl) as of 2023. Saudi Arabia ranks second in the world with 267.2 Bbbl, followed by Iran at 208.6 Bbbl, and Canada at 163.6 Bbbl. Together, these four countries account for more than half of global oil reserves.

The United States, by comparison, holds about 55 Bbbl, placing it ninth globally. This means that Venezuela’s reserves alone are more than five times larger than those of the US.

Sources:

Ultimas Noticias, Sep 4, 2025. 

Alpha Defense, Sep 10, 2025. 

Hindustan Times, Video. Sep 21, 2025.