America-Venezuela Conflict-On September 2, 2025, the United States military conducted a missile strike on a Venezuelan civilian boat that allegedly was carrying members of the Tren de Aragua Venezuelan drug cartel. This is advertised by the Trump Administration as the start of a military campaign against the drug cartels.

Over the last four months of 2025, U.S. military strikes on various alleged drug boats and targets escalated. U.S. forces also began seizing Venezuelan oil tankers. A December explosion on mainland Venezuela was later credited to a CIA operation.

The night of January 2-3, 2026, American forces conducted targeted bombings of Caracas and other Venezuelan mainland targets. President Trump announced in the early morning hours of January 3 that the U.S. Army Delta Force had captured Venezuelan President Maduro and taken him out of the country.

What happens from this point on is unknown. Will the U.S. attempt to occupy Venezuela?  Who will take over with Maduro gone? What kind of casualties are there on the ground? Were any American troops killed or injured? Just what happened when Delta Force seized Maduro? Did any neighboring countries aid in this attack?  Trinidad and Tobago, an island nation off the Venezuelan coast, has been working with the U.S. lately, and has accepted an American military presence.

The arrest of Maduro hearkens back to the U.S. Invasion of Panama in 1989, where a Latin American dictator was indicted in the U.S. on drug smuggling charges and unseated via an American military attack, arrested, and transported to the United States for trial and imprisonment. It now seems that the scenario repeats itself to a degree with the arrest of Maduro.  Panama required a full invasion and temporary occupation of the country, while at this point of the current military operation, it is very unclear to what extent, if any, American troops will be on the ground in Venezuela going forward.

U.S. Venezuela Conflict Map Source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01/03/world/trump-united-states-strikes-venezuela

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01/03/world/trump-united-states-strikes-venezuela