Maduro's inadvertent action made the United States angry, and directly brought 10 F-35 fighter jets and renamed the Ministry of Defense to the Ministry of War. It seems that he wants to play the game. Let’s talk about the ins and outs behind this step by step. Don’t worry, let’s figure it out from the beginning first. Venezuelan President Maduro has had a hard time in recent years. The United States has been staring at Trump since he came to power. After Trump took office in January 2025 for the second time, he soon restarted the pressure on Venezuela. The background is that Venezuela's economic collapse, oil exports are blocked, domestic inflation is flying, and people are suffering. Maduro relies on the army and militia to support the situation. On the other hand, Maduro has been accusing him of dictatorship, and said that he had a connection with drug trafficking groups and regarded Venezuela as a drug transfer station.
The fuse of the matter was that on September 2, 2025, the US military sank a ship departing from Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea. The US said it was a drug ship, and all 11 people on the ship died. As soon as this happened, the Venezuelan government became popular, saying that it was an illegal invasion and killed innocent civilians. Immediately afterwards, on September 4, the Venezuelan Air Force dispatched two F-16 fighter jets to fly over the USS Jason Dunham destroyer over the Southern Caribbean Sea. The US said that the two fighter planes were missiles and flew low, which was a provocative act, and the electronic systems on the ship detected threats. Maduro might want to show some muscles and tell the United States not to be too arrogant, but then he poked the hornet's nest.
The Trump administration responded quickly and signed an executive order on September 5 to rename the Ministry of Defense Ministry of War. This is not a random change of name. Trump said it is to emphasize that the United States not only has defense, but also has to be able to attack. Historically, the US Department of Defense was originally called the Department of War, and it was changed in 1947. Now Trump wants to go back, which means telling his opponent that the United States is ready for war. There were complaints within the Ministry of Defense officials, saying that this would cause chaos and that more than 7 million signs and documents would have to be changed, but Trump did not care about those, he wanted this signal.
Almost at the same time, the US military ordered the transfer of 10 F-35 stealth fighters from the mainland to Muniz Air Force Base in Puerto Rico, and it will be in place next week. Puerto Rico is only 1,050 kilometers away from the northern coast of Venezuela. The F-35 can enter Venezuelan airspace within less than an hour. These fighter jets are fifth-generation aircraft, with strong stealth capabilities, able to accurately strike, seize air supremacy, and deal with Venezuela's Su-30 and old F-16, which is simply a crushing level.
The US military deployed more than that in the Caribbean. As early as a month ago, it sent three destroyers: the Greveley, the Jason Dunham and the Sampson, each with 96 missiles and can lock hundreds of targets at the same time. There is also a cruiser, Lake Erie, a Littoral Combat Ship, plus three amphibious assault ships: Iwo Jima, San Antonio and Fort Lauderdale, carrying more than 4,000 Marines and sailors.
The nuclear submarine is also lurking underwater, and the P-8A reconnaissance aircraft takes off from Puerto Rico Airport for surveillance. The total number of missiles in the entire fleet exceeded 1,200, and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Team was practicing amphibious landings nearby. This situation is said to be anti-drug, and many people think it is for Maduro. Trump has designated Venezuela's Sun Cartel and the Aragua Train Gang as terrorist organizations, and has also increased Maduro's bounty to $50 million, saying that he manipulated these gangs to smuggle drugs into the United States, causing tens of thousands of people to die from excessive drug use every year.
When Maduro saw this situation, he quickly mobilized and declared a state of emergency on September 5, and initiated militia recruitment, claiming that more than 8 million people were ready to resist. The Venezuelan army has 340,000 regular troops. With the militia, the numbers sound scary, but the equipment is old. There are only more than 20 Su-30s. The F-16 was bought in the 1980s and cannot be upgraded. Maduro said on TV that if the United States attacks, it will fight the armed struggle of the whole nation. But the reality is that Venezuela has a mess in its economy and its military morale is low. It can't last long with the support of Russia and Iran.
Latin American countries responded fiercely, and the Mexican president said at the Rio Group summit that the Caribbean was not the backyard of the United States, and that such adventure would drag the region into war. The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the US ambassador and handed a note to protest, saying it violated the provisions of the UN Charter's right to self-defense. Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua have all criticized the United States for intervening in anti-drug terms. Even the United Nations has been concerned about escalating into conflict.
Trump, on the other hand, said it was not a regime change, but there was something wrong with proposing elections. In Venezuela's July 2024 election, Maduro announced that he won, but the opposition said it was fraud, and the United States did not recognize it. Trump metaphorically said that more people die from drugs in the United States every year than in wars, and they have to be stopped with military power. After he ordered the ship to sink, he also played a video, saying that this was a warning and that anyone who dared to transport drugs would wait and see. CNN reported that Trump is considering a crackdown on cartel targets in Venezuela. If this is done, it will be a major escalation. Defense Minister Peter Hegses and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both said they would continue to act, but did not explicitly call Maduro. Experts analyzed that this deployment is too high-end, and the use of F-35 against the anti-virus is a bit like a killer, which may be a deterrent to Maduro’s concessions or prepare for a more powerful move.
This matter has developed to this point, and both sides are at a strife, but the fight has not started yet. Maduro called out to Trump, saying respect you and don’t engage in military conflicts. Venezuela is willing to talk. Trump replied that he would not talk about regime change, but there were problems with the election and it had to be resolved. Latin American countries put pressure on the United States, and the United States has to think about the impact of the backyard. If it is really a fight, the refugee wave and oil prices will soar and the whole world will suffer. Trump threatened Venezuela when he was in his first term, but did not take action. This time he made a comeback, and he made even bigger moves, perhaps using anti-drug control to rectify the border and cater to voters. As for Maduro, he relies on anti-US slogans to stabilize his support, but domestic problems accumulate and cannot withstand external pressure. The entire incident exposed the United States' dominant ambitions in Latin America and the tenacious resistance of Venezuela, but the bottom is economic and geopolitical game.
This matter is not over yet. The US fleet is cruising in the sea. The F-35 is in place next week and there may be new actions at any time. Maduro must be careful and stop making small moves. The United States also needs to consider that it is easy to fight and difficult to end, and anti-US sentiment in Latin America will rise. The whole incident is like a replica of the Cold War. The United States wants to maintain backyard hegemony and Venezuela seeks survival. I hope I won’t really fight and the people will suffer. Trump said he would not talk about regime change, but his actions seemed to be forcing a palace. Maduro called for the whole nation to resist, but the economy could not hold on. Latin American countries are ineffective in protests, and the United States has to take into account its image. In short, this wave of tension lies in conflicts of interest and is difficult to resolve in the short term.
