Venezuela warns of US escalation as Washington prepares new phase of covert operations: Report
Iran Press TV
Saturday, 22 November 2025 11:54 PM
Venezuela is sounding the alarm as senior US officials confirm that Washington is preparing a new phase of operations targeting President Nicolas Maduro's government.
According to multiple US officials who spoke to Reuters, the Trump administration is moving ahead with covert actions and military preparations aimed at "ramping up pressure" on the Venezuelan government, the agency reported on Saturday.
Washington has claimed its buildup is linked to so-called "counter-narcotics missions."
Observers, however, warn that War Department deployments, including aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and F-35 warplanes, far exceed any requirement for drug interdiction.
Two US officials acknowledged that covert operations were expected to form the opening phase of Washington's new action.
They also admitted that options under consideration included the direct overthrow of President Maduro, echoing decades of US attempts to unseat independent Latin American leaders, who reject Washington's political and economic dictates.
The CIA declined to comment. The White House refused to rule anything out.
"President Trump is prepared to use every element of American power," a senior administration official said, an assertion Venezuelan analysts say is code for intensifying hybrid warfare, featuring sanctions, propaganda, covert operations, and military pressure.
For Caracas, these developments confirm long-held warnings that the United States has never accepted Venezuela's sovereignty or its right to pursue a model independent of Washington's influence.
Maduro, who will turn 63 on Sunday, has repeatedly warned that Washington seeks to impose an unelected government in Caracas.
He maintains that the Venezuelan people, the armed forces, and the state will resist any foreign aggression and defend their homeland.
The chief executive has also categorically rejected US accusations linking his government to drug trafficking, calling them a political pretext for aggression.
International drug-monitoring studies consistently show that the vast majority of illicit narcotics reaching the United States transit through countries allied with Washington, not Venezuela.
The US military presence around Venezuela has surged in recent months. The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group arrived in the region on November 16, joining seven warships, a nuclear submarine and, advanced fighter jets.
US forces have already carried out 21 lethal strikes on vessels they claim were transporting drugs, killings that human rights groups describe as extrajudicial executions of people in international waters.
Meanwhile, global airlines cancelled flights over Venezuelan airspace following a US safety warning.
Human rights organizations have condemned the 83 killings linked to US military strikes as violations of international humanitarian law.
Several US allies have privately expressed concern that Washington's actions risked destabilizing the Caribbean and setting a dangerous precedent of unilateral armed operations against sovereign states.
Venezuela prepares for 'prolonged resistance'
Facing a militarily superior adversary, Venezuelan defense planners have been reviewing strategies for national defense in the event of a US invasion.
Internal discussions have focused on decentralized tactics and a "prolonged resistance" strategy, which would mobilize small military units across more than 280 locations to carry out defensive operations and sabotage against invading forces.
Venezuelan officials say this asymmetrical approach reflects the country's determination to defend its sovereignty, just as Cuba, Nicaragua, and other nations have done during past US attempts at forced transformation of regional states' political structures.
Despite the escalating rhetoric, two US officials acknowledged that conversations between the two governments were ongoing.
It, however, remains unclear whether diplomatic channels could alter Washington's timeline or if the United States had already decided to move ahead with its next phase of pressure.
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