Tense relationships between Venezuela and the US have been exacerbated after stories of potential US navy motion within the Latin American nation.
On Monday, the US designated Venezuela’s “Cartel de los Soles”, that means Cartel of the Suns in Spanish, a overseas “terrorist” organisation, which it claims is led by President Nicolas Maduro. Washington has not offered any proof for its claims. Cartel de los Soles is definitely a time period Venezuelans use to seek advice from officers engaged in corruption, and isn’t an organised cartel.
A number of airways have cancelled flights to Venezuela following a warning from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) a few “doubtlessly hazardous state of affairs” in Venezuelan airspace.
The advisory got here after months of navy build-up within the Caribbean Sea as a part of what the US stated had been efforts to counter narcotics. In the meantime, the highest US navy officer, Dan Caine, has been visiting the Caribbean area.
Final month, US President Donald Trump stated he had authorised the CIA spy company to hold out secret operations in Venezuela, bringing into the highlight the historical past of US intervention in Latin America.
A strike on Venezuelan territory would represent a severe escalation of the months-long US operation within the area, which has seen greater than 80 individuals killed in a sequence of strikes on boats for allegedly trafficking medication.
Maduro has denounced the US actions. On Monday, the Venezuelan authorities dubbed the “terrorist” designation of the alleged drug cartel as a “ridiculous lie” geared toward justifying “an illegitimate and unlawful intervention towards Venezuela”.
Since Trump returned to the White Home in January 2025, he has escalated assaults on Venezuela, reversing his predecessor Joe Biden’s coverage of participating with Maduro.
However the roots of mistrust and rigidity between Washington and Caracas return 1 / 4 of a century, following left-wing former President Hugo Chavez’s ascension to energy in 1999. Maduro took over as president following Chavez’s dying in 2013.
Here’s a timeline of the deteriorating relations between Venezuela and the US since Trump began his second time period, and the way Washington’s strategy in direction of the South American nation has led to this second.
- January 10, 2025 – Maduro is sworn in for a 3rd time period after disputed elections. The US rejects the result, reiterating allegations of election fraud.
- January 2025 – Trump returns to energy within the US and revokes the momentary protected standing (TPS) that had shielded about 600,000 Venezuelans dwelling within the US from deportation.
- February 20, 2025: The Trump administration designates Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang as a “overseas terrorist organisation”. Trump would go on to say that Tren de Aragua is a entrance for Maduro, though US intelligence companies have themselves stated they don’t have any proof of any hyperlink between the group and the Venezuelan management.
- February 21, 2025 – Caracas agrees on coordinating with Washington over Trump’s mass deportation push; the primary batch of migrants reaches Venezuela.
- February 26, 2025 – Trump nixes Venezuelan oil concessions granted by Biden.
- March 24, 2025 – Trump imposes 25 p.c tariffs on international locations shopping for oil from Venezuela.
- August 8, 2025 – US doubles reward for arrest of Maduro to $50m, designating him the “international terrorist chief” of the Cartel de los Soles.
- September-November 2025 – Washington launches a maritime “anti-narcotics” marketing campaign within the Caribbean and Pacific on September 2. At the very least 21 assaults on alleged “drug boats” have since killed greater than 83 individuals.
- October 15, 2025 – Trump confirmed that he has authorised the CIA to hold out secret operations in Venezuela.
- October 28, 2025 – Venezuela suspends a gasoline accord with Trinidad and Tobago over a go to by a US warship.
- November 12, 2025 – Venezuela launches nationwide navy drills.
- November 14, 2025 – The US broadcasts “Southern Spear” mission as forces deploy close to South America.
- November 14-16, 2025 – The US deploys the world’s largest plane service, USS Gerald R Ford, different warships, 1000’s of troops, and F-35 stealth jets to the Caribbean.
- November 22, 2025 – The FAA points a Discover to Air Missions (NOTAM), warning airways of hazards in Venezuelan airspace as a consequence of “heightened navy exercise”, together with GPS interference. Airways droop flights to Venezuela.
Earlier than the rise of socialist President Chavez, Caracas and Washington largely maintained shut financial ties. US corporations invested within the oil sector within the early twentieth century, and, by the Nineteen Twenties, the US turned the most important marketplace for Venezuela’s oil exports.
However Chavez’s nationalisation of the oil trade and vocal stance towards US imperial pursuits in Latin America soured the ties. In 2007, Chavez pushed out US oil giants ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips as a part of his efforts to make the state oil firm acquire a majority stake in all new oil tasks. Chevron, one other US oil main, nevertheless, continues to function.
Right here’s a snapshot of Venezuela-US ties over the previous 25 years:
1999 – Chavez takes workplace
Campaigning on an anti-establishment, anti-US platform, Hugo Chavez is elected president and launches the so-called Bolivarian Revolution. His early strikes to rewrite the structure and later to nationalise the oil sector set Venezuela and the US on a collision course.
2000s – Escalation and hostility
US-Venezuela ties deteriorate as Chavez strengthens ties with Russia, China and Iran.
Venezuela expels US-backed NGOs and diplomats, and accuses Washington of destabilisation efforts. The US criticises Venezuela over “authoritarianism” and restrictions on the media.
Domestically, Chavez’s authorities expands social programmes, funded by excessive oil costs, however financial mismanagement and corruption start to undermine progress.
2002 – The coup try
A short-lived coup removes Chavez for 48 hours. Venezuela accuses the US of supporting the plot – a cost Washington denies. This occasion lays the inspiration for twenty years of mistrust.
2013 – Maduro’s rise
Following the dying of Chavez, Maduro — his longtime deputy — narrowly wins the presidency in elections. His tenure is straight away marked by financial decline, corruption scandals and worsening relations with the US.
2014-15 – First main US sanctions
Amid rising protests and allegations of human rights abuses, the US imposes visa restrictions and sanctions on Venezuelan officers.
It is a turning level: Sanctions exacerbate the financial disaster, and Venezuela begins to expertise extreme shortages of meals and drugs. Inflation skyrockets, and migration overseas surges.
2017-19 – Financial disaster
The US blocks Venezuela’s entry to its monetary markets and bans the acquisition of Venezuelan debt. Sanctions on oil imports intensify as Venezuela’s economic system collapses underneath hyperinflation and years of mismanagement. In 2019, inflation peaks at 345 p.c. In April 2025, it stands at 172 p.c.
2018 – Maduro’s disputed re-election
Maduro’s controversial 2018 re-election results in a political disaster. Key opposition candidates are barred from operating, prompting a boycott of the elections by a lot of the opposition.
Opposition determine Juan Guaido declares himself interim president, successful recognition from the US and dozens of allies. Washington expands sweeping sanctions on Venezuela’s oil, gold, mining and banking sectors.
2024 – A rerun of the 2018 election
Six years later, Maduro once more received a disputed election towards unbiased opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. The opposition confirmed vote tallies from a number of cubicles that appeared to recommend a snug win for Gonzales, disputing the outcome introduced by election authorities in Maduro’s favour. The United Nations criticised the conduct of the election.
The then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated there was “overwhelming proof” that Gonzalez had received. A number of left-wing Latin American governments, together with Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia, additionally questioned the official outcomes and referred to as for a recount.