INTERNACIONAL
Washington’s shadow war: How strikes on cartels threaten to collapse Maduro’s regime
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Publicly, the White House says the latest strikes in the Caribbean are aimed at cartel infrastructure. Privately, some analysts suspect the campaign is calibrated to do something else: weaken longtime U.S. foe Nicolás Maduro’s grip on power.
President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on the Venezuelan regime, striking four boats in the Caribbean Sea linked to drug trafficking networks tied to Caracas over the past month. Alongside those strikes, the U.S. has repositioned three destroyers, an amphibious assault ship, a nuclear-powered attack submarine and a squadron of F-35s to Puerto Rico — a deployment that has prompted one question in Washington and across the region: is the United States preparing for all-out war on Caracas?
So far, defense analysts say that seems unlikely. A ground invasion would require far more troops than are currently in the theater — between 50,000 and 150,000 by some estimates.
Somewhere around 10,000 troops have been repositioned in Latin America, a senior defense official told the New York Times.
WAR ON CARTELS? WHITE HOUSE SAYS IT HAS AN IRON-CLAD CASE TO STRIKE NARCO-TERRORIST GROUPS
Some analysts suspect the drug strike campaign is calibrated to do something else: weaken longtime U.S. foe Nicolás Maduro’s grip on power. (Carlos Becerra/Getty Images)
«The U.S. just doesn’t have enough forces there,» said Mark Cancian, a senior defense adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. «What I think they’ve put in place is the capability to launch strikes at either the cartels or the Maduro regime. If I had to bet, it’s probably against the cartels — but I wouldn’t rule out something against the regime.»
That limited but flexible posture reflects what some experts call a modern form of coercive diplomacy.
«It sort of looks like we’re in the throes of a 21st-century version of gunboat diplomacy,» said Brandan Buck, a foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute. «The Trump administration is doing what it can to force some sort of transition [of] power — out of Maduro’s hands and into someone else’s — without a classic invasion.»
The pressure campaign has accelerated this year. The administration raised the bounty on Maduro — Venezuela’s kleptocratic leader for more than a decade — to $50 million, and officials familiar with internal discussions say Trump has grown frustrated with the dictator’s refusal to step aside. Diplomatic outreach to Caracas was reportedly suspended this week.
While the Pentagon continues to frame the campaign as counter-narcotics, the U.S. military’s posture now allows for much more. Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Washington’s evolving approach reflects a growing willingness to confront the regime directly.
Kinetic strike takes out Venezuelan boat US intelligence linked to drug trade. (Trump/Truth Social)
«There appears to be growing appetite to confront Maduro’s regime directly — including potentially land-based strikes within Venezuela,» Berg said. «The force posture currently in the southern Caribbean is consonant with the potential for precision strikes using Tomahawk missiles or other weapons, but without risking the lives of U.S. service personnel.»
Behind the scenes, Berg noted, the administration has taken steps to prepare the legal ground for such action.
«The clearest signal yet is the legal justification for a non-international armed conflict,» he said. «That tells us several departments’ Office of Legal Counsel were tasked with building the case for potential strikes.»
The White House continues to describe the operation as homeland defense — stopping drug and fentanyl shipments before they reach U.S. shores — but analysts say Venezuela’s unique role in the drug trade blurs that line.
«Under Maduro, Venezuela is a criminal regime,» Berg said. «What makes the threat unique is that the regime controls the institutions of the state — and its military — to move drug shipments and participate in other illicit economies.»
CARTEL CONNECTION: HEZBOLLAH AND IRAN EXPLOIT MADURO’S VENEZUELA FOR COCAINE CASH
That dynamic means targeting cartels could also destabilize the regime that depends on them. Brent Sadler, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and retired Navy officer, said striking cartel networks could ultimately make Maduro’s rule unsustainable.
«The Maduro regime is reliant on the cartels to maintain its bottom line and stay in power,» Sadler said. «If you weaken the cartel backing of the regime, then the regime itself becomes unsustainable. You don’t have to go in guns blazing — you let it crumble under its own weight.»
Cancian said the expanding U.S. presence at sea and in the air «indicates this thing may end up being larger or go on longer than expected.» Any strikes against cartel production facilities inland, he added, risk bleeding into regime targets such as intelligence or defense ministries.
«They could easily strike the intelligence service or the Ministry of Defense,» Cancian said. «That’s where things could start to blur.»
But Democrats have accused Trump officials of trying to get the U.S. roped into another war. Republican senators on Thursday blocked an effort led by Senate Democrats to curb Trump’s war powers with a resolution stating Trump does not have the power to authorize strikes without approval from Congress.
The potential for retaliation remains a wild card. Venezuela’s conventional forces are weak, but analysts warn that the regime could rely on its cartel allies or proxy networks to strike back indirectly.
«Maduro could facilitate their retaliation,» Cancian said. «That could mean attacks on DEA agents or American citizens in the Caribbean. The cartels have the ability to do that.»
So far, few regional actors appear willing to come to Maduro’s defense. Berg said even many of the regime’s neighbors would quietly welcome his fall.
«Many would be secretly happy to see him go,» he said. «But you’d expect a few voices — [President Gustavo] Petro in Colombia, [President Inacio] Lula in Brazil — to object to the use of force.»
MADURO CLAIMS US SEEKS ‘REGIME CHANGE THROUGH MILITARY THREAT’ AMID CARIBBEAN BUILDUP
Trump officials have deemed drugs flowing to the U.S. a national security threat as over 100,000 have died from overdose in some recent years. (Fox News)
Erik Suarez, a Venezuelan-born political activist, said the hemisphere is already dividing over the issue.
«We can divide South America [into] two sides,» he said. «Lula in Brazil and Petro in Colombia are aligned with Maduro, but many others — Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, and Caribbean states — see Venezuela as a major threat because of mass migration and the spread of drug traffickers and terrorists.»
Suarez said the Maduro regime’s alliances with armed groups and terror networks make it not just a domestic problem but a direct threat to U.S. security.
«Venezuela represents a huge national security threat — not only ideologically, but to homeland security,» he said. «They’ve issued passports to Hezbollah members and targeted dissidents abroad. Keeping Maduro in power is a long-term danger to the U.S.»
That view is shared by Venezuelan opposition leaders in the U.S. and many Latin Americans who fled communist dictatorships and their descendants, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
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Even if Washington succeeds in toppling Maduro, rebuilding Venezuela would be a monumental challenge. The country’s opposition — led by María Corina Machado and 2024 president-elect Edmundo González Urrutia — has legitimacy but faces the task of stabilizing a shattered state.
«The opposition has had months to prepare for governing,» Berg said. «They’re full of plans to get Venezuela back on a path of development and greater security.»
venezuelan political crisis,narco terror,conflicts defense,caribbean region,donald trump
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Amid the implementation of President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan to end the Hamas-Israel war, Mideast experts are urging that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have no presence in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip because of its reported support for the terrorist organization Hamas and its track record of severe incompetence.
Hugh Dugan, who served on the National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Organization Affairs in 2020, told Fox News Digital, «UNRWA’s mission was to provide relief and support pending a durable political solution. As such, a solution is at hand – pending Hamas’ compliance to disarm immediately – truly neutral humanitarian operations beg for new measures and modalities.»
He added, «The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation for months has distributed aid independently of U.N. channels and has prevented diversion by militant groups. Other U.N. humanitarian operations would be well-served to take cover and operate within GHF’s shadow under the blistering sun of critical human need.»
IDF KILLS HAMAS TERRORIST IT SAYS WORKED FOR UNRWA, LED CHARGE ON REIM BOMB SHELTER MASSACRE
Pictures are displayed on the walls of a bomb shelter, in which, six months prior, people sought refuge before being killed during the deadly October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, near Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
Dugan, a former diplomat who served at the U.S. mission to the world body, said UNRWA has turned a cottage industry into a sprawling transnational bureaucracy that has perpetuated financial waste and prolonged the conflict by granting refugee status to the descendants of Palestinian refugees after the first Israel-Arab states’ war.
«After the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, UNRWA’s critical mission was to provide direct relief and works program for 800,000 Palestinian refugees. Its job was to put itself out of business as soon as possible, however it went the route of mission creep. Over decades managerially captured by the U.N. bureaucracy, UNRWA perpetuates the status of refugees now swelling to 5.9 million,» he said.
Dugan concluded, «After billions of dollars, Palestinians continue in desperate dependence for humanitarian aid of the most basic kind. This has positioned UNRWA as a political actor in its own right beyond its original mission. And its politics and relations with Hamas reveal that UNRWA lost irretrievably its grounding in humanitarian neutrality and non-discrimination.»
DOSSIER REVEALS INFORMATION USED TO EXPLAIN UN AGENCY’S DEEP TIES TO HAMAS IN GAZA
People carry boxes of relief supplies from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private US-backed aid group that has bypassed the longstanding UN-led system in the territory, as displaced Palestinians return from an aid distribution centre in the central Gaza Strip on June. 8 The UN and major aid organisations have refused to cooperate with the GHF, citing concerns that it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. (EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)
In August, Fox News Digital obtained a U.S. State Department public assessment to Congress, stating, «The administration has determined UNRWA is irredeemably compromised and now seeks its full dismantlement.» The Biden administration had given UNRWA $1 billion in U.S. taxpayer funding since 2021 before the freeze in 2024 went into effect.
UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma countered allegations against the organization as dangerous and told Fox News Digital that such claims have «never been substantiated, let alone proven,» adding, «The United Nations has undertaken investigations and external reviews, and none of these claims have been substantiated. What these claims have done, most importantly, is they have banned UNRWA, the largest humanitarian organization, from delivering food to hungry people.»
Touma said «It also put my colleagues in Gaza in danger and have put their lives at serious risks due to this dis-information. UNRWA has 12,000 staff on the ground in Gaza It is impossible to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza without UNRWA and its teams. We know that all other attempts to replace UNRWA have been disastrous.»
She continued, «Given [the] above and the action that the U.N. has taken against these claims, these claims remain as such—claims with huge consequences on the lives of our colleagues, the delivery of humanitarian assistance and the reputation of this agency,» she said.
Photos released by the Israeli Defense Force show three individuals that the Israeli military claims are Hamas terrorists inside an UNRWA compound in Rafah. (IDF)
A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that «President Trump and Secretary Rubio have long stated that Hamas will never govern Gaza again. That includes institutions they have infiltrated to sustain their power and influence.»
The spokesperson reiterated the directive from «President Trump’s Feb. 4 Executive Order regarding ending funding or reviewing support for certain U.N. and international organizations,» which declared that «UNRWA has reportedly been infiltrated by members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State (Secretary) as foreign terrorist organizations, and UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.»
Former IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said, «UNRWA has proven itself to be irredeemably corrupt, infiltrated by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad and part of the reason why Hamas was able to recruit tens of thousands of Jihad-indoctrinated youth and to sustain itself during two years of fighting.
Hamas terrorists killed civilians, including women, children and the elderly, when they attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces via AP)
«If we desire a deradicalized Gaza, the first organization that has to be removed from power is Hamas. The close second is UNRWA. Both must not have any role in shaping the present or the future of Gaza. Now is the time to invest in a better future for Gaza and the region, and the time to remove UNRWA.»
Conricus said that «Ever since Hamas took power over the Gaza Strip in 2007, UNRWA has been a facilitator for Hamas’s military buildup. By diverting international aid to provide for the civilian needs of Gaza‘s population per Hamas guidance, UNRWA enabled Hamas to divert the majority of their funds to military buildup in the shape of digging tunnels, producing rockets, acquiring drones and sophisticated missiles and paying and training a large force of Jihadi terrorists.»
UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, Gaza on February 21, 2024. (Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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He said that «Throughout the two-year war, Hamas fighters systematically used UNRWA facilities and infrastructure to support and sustain their military operations against Israel. Hamas underground command posts were exposed directly underneath UNRWA facilities in Gaza City, including a supply of electricity and IT services from UNRWA offices to the underground Hamas bunker. UNRWA schools all across the Gaza Strip were systematically used by Hamas as military staging grounds, production facilities for weapons, intelligence collection sites, and hideouts for Hamas fighters.»
When asked about the role of UNRWA, an IDF spokesperson told Fox News Digital, «It’s the political echelon to decide everything regarding the peace deal and the post-war details.» Fox News Digital reached out to Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson on several occasions for a comment. Israel’s government banned UNRWA operations in January, 2025.
united nations,israel,terrorism,conflicts,anti semitism
INTERNACIONAL
El líder golpista de Madagascar avanza con la formación de un Gobierno bajo control militar
Madagascar inicia la conformación de un nuevo gobierno en medio de una acelerada transición política, una semana después del golpe de Estado militar y de la investidura del líder golpista coronel Michael Randrianirina como presidente. Mientras tanto, la juventud malgache observa el proceso con cautela, decidida a actuar como contrapeso ante cualquier desviación autoritaria.
“Estamos en una etapa en la que no podemos hacer gran cosa, salvo observar. Es demasiado pronto para juzgar su competencia (de Randrianirina). Es crucial darles tiempo para trabajar”, declaró a Randrianantoanina Ny Aina, asesor de la plataforma Gen X-Y-Z Madagascar, que agrupa a los principales actores de las movilizaciones que precipitaron la caída del anterior Ejecutivo.
El coronel Randrianirina juró el pasado viernes como “presidente para la refundación de la República de Madagascar” y prometió impulsar una “reconstrucción nacional” en este país insular del sudeste africano.
Randrianirina, al mando del Cuerpo de Administración de Personal y Servicios del Ejército de Tierra (CAPSAT) —la poderosa unidad de élite que lideró el golpe del 14 de octubre—, asume la presidencia en medio de una grave crisis política y económica. Por su parte, el derrocado mandatario, Andry Rajoelina, ha huido del país.
“En lo que a nosotros respecta, el coronel siempre ha escuchado nuestra voz como jóvenes, como portadores del grito de la población malgache ante la crisis, y esperamos que conserve esa cualidad. El tiempo lo dirá”, añadió Ny Aina, uno de los jóvenes que encabezó las protestas.
El lunes, Randrianirina nombró primer ministro al empresario Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, presidente del consejo de administración del principal banco del país, BNI Madagascar, y desató una ola de reacciones críticas. Poco después, comenzaron a circular en redes sociales fotografías de Rajaonarivelo junto a Mamy Ravatomanga, poderoso empresario y estrecho aliado del derrocado presidente, conocido por sus vastas conexiones e influencia. Durante las protestas, los manifestantes clamaban tanto por la dimisión de Rajoelina como por el arresto del magnate, apodado “Piedra Azul” (traducción de su apellido).
Ny Aina lamentó que el nombramiento del primer ministro se haya convertido en el argumento principal de quienes buscan desacreditar o dividir el movimiento juvenil. “Difundimos el mensaje de que ‘la lucha continúa’, pero no hay que tomarlo al pie de la letra. Tras la destitución de Andry Rajoelina, ya mencionamos que es a partir de ahora cuando comienza la verdadera batalla. Y esta batalla la libramos contra las malas prácticas políticas y la corrupción. Seguiremos en esa línea”, explicó.
Para la generación Z malgache, las prioridades siguen siendo el acceso al agua y la electricidad, así como la reducción de la inflación, los mismos problemas que originaron las protestas masivas del pasado 25 de septiembre. Según la ONU, la represión de esas movilizaciones dejó al menos 22 muertos.
Las manifestaciones evolucionaron rápidamente en un movimiento antigubernamental que exigía la renuncia de Rajoelina, acusado de corrupción, nepotismo y malversación de fondos públicos, y que se aferraba al poder pese a la creciente presión social.
Antes de esta asonada, Madagascar ya había sufrido tres golpes de Estado desde su independencia de Francia: en 1972, 1975 y 2009. El CAPSAT, la misma unidad militar que hoy respalda a Randrianirina, también participó en el golpe de 2009 que derrocó a Marc Ravalomanana y llevó por primera vez al poder al propio Rajoelina.
(Con información de EFE)
Domestic,Politics,Africa,Government / Politics
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Democrats are pushing for more answers on President Donald Trump’s crusade against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean as the number of strikes continues to climb and amid the sudden retirement announcement of the military commander who oversees U.S. operations in the region.
While Trump claims that the strikes are necessary to put drug traffickers and cartels «on notice» and has warned them he will blow them «out of existence,» lawmakers are increasingly demanding more oversight and evidence backing up the legality of the strikes.
As a result, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, is urging Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., to bring the House back to session so the committee can hold a hearing on the operations in Latin America and to give the outgoing military commander an opportunity to testify.
TRUMP UNLEASHES US MILITARY POWER ON CARTELS. IS A WIDER WAR LOOMING?
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the last votes of the week on Thursday, September 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
«President Trump and his Administration continue to fail to answer pressing questions regarding the President’s orders to carry out lethal U.S. military strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea,» Smith said in a Monday statement.
«They have failed to demonstrate the legality of these strikes, provide transparency on the process used, or even a list of cartels that have been designated as terrorist organizations,» Smith said. «We have also yet to see any evidence to support the President’s unilateral determinations that these vessels or their activities posed imminent threats to the United States of America that warranted military force rather than law enforcement-led interdiction.»
The Trump administration has adopted an aggressive approach to combat the flow of drugs into the U.S., and designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa and others as foreign terrorist organizations in February.
Additionally, the White House sent lawmakers a memo Sept. 30 alerting them that the U.S. is engaged in a «non-international armed conflict» with drug smugglers, and the U.S. military has conducted at least seven strikes against vessels off the coast of Venezuela.
TRUMP TOUTS US STRIKE AS MADURO SLAMS MILITARY ‘THREAT’ OFF VENEZUELA
President Donald Trump directed a deadly strike on a suspected drug-running boat, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Oct. 3. 2025. (SecWar/X)
Meanwhile, the commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), whose area of operations includes the Caribbean waters where the strikes against the alleged drug boats have been conducted, announced Thursday he is retiring suddenly by the end of 2025.
Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, who became the commander of SOUTHCOM in November 2024, said that he will retire from the Navy in December in a highly unusual move. No reason for his abrupt exit was provided, and the Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
However, the New York Times reported Thursday that Holsey had raised concerns and questions about the strikes against the alleged drug boats.
«Never before in my over 20 years on the committee can I recall seeing a combatant commander leave their post this early and amid such turmoil,» Smith said. «I have also never seen such a staggering lack of transparency on behalf of an Administration and the Department to meaningfully inform Congress on the use of lethal military force.»
«It is time for House Republicans to return to the Capitol and negotiate with Democrats so that we can all get back to doing our jobs for the sake of our national security and national defense,» Smith said.
The House has been out of session since September, and, since then, the government has entered a partial shutdown due to a lapse in funding.
HOW TRUMP’S STRIKES AGAINST ALLEGED NARCO-TERRORISTS ARE RESHAPING THE CARTEL BATTLEFIELD: ‘ONE-WAY TICKET’
Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth visits to the Panama Canal on April 08, 2025 in Panama City, Panama. Panama Canal Administrator Dr. Ricaurte Vasquez Morales welcomes Pete Hegseth. (Daniel Gonzalez/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A spokesperson for Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Smith isn’t the only one pressing for more information on Trump’s war on drugs. Lawmakers in the Senate — including some Republicans — also are pushing for greater oversight on the strikes, and have called into question whether the strikes were even legal as Trump weighs land operations next.
On Friday, Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced a war powers resolution that would prohibit U.S. armed forces from participating in «hostilities» against Venezuela.
«The Trump administration has made it clear they may launch military action inside Venezuela’s borders and won’t stop at boat strikes in the Caribbean,» Schiff said in a Friday statement.
«In recent weeks, we have seen increasingly concerning movements and reporting that undermine claims that this is merely about stopping drug smugglers,» Schiff said. «Congress has not authorized military force against Venezuela. And we must assert our authority to stop the United States from being dragged — intentionally or accidentally — into full-fledged war in South America.»
Trump has brushed off lawmakers’ concerns about the legality of the strikes, and said Oct. 14 that the alleged drug vessels are «fair game» because they are «loaded up with drugs.»
congress,pentagon,white house,venezuelan political crisis,defense
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