DONALD Trump has deployed 10,000 US troops, nuclear-capable bombers, and America’s most elite special operations unit — the “Night Stalkers” — to the waters off Venezuela.
The Caribbean is now bracing for its most explosive showdown in decades as dictator Nicolás Maduro whips his country into a war footing and vows to repel any US attack.
In a dramatic escalation, three B-52 bombers — the same heavy bombers used in Iraq and Syria — flew for hours off Venezuela’s coast this week.
Meanwhile, MH-6 Little Birds and MH-60 Black Hawks from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the Night Stalkers, carried out low-level flights just 90 miles from Venezuelan territory.
The storied unit, famed for the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, specialises in lighting-fast, low-altitude night missions and often carries Green Berets, Navy SEALs and Delta Force operators into battle.
The US Navy now has eight warships and a nuclear submarine patrolling the Caribbean.
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Most of the American force is based in Puerto Rico, with about 2,200 Marines stationed on amphibious assault ships.
The Pentagon has also deployed F-35B stealth fighters, P-8 Poseidon spy planes, and MQ-9 Reaper drones to the region.
Visual analysis by The Washington Post shows that the elite helicopters were recently spotted over open water near oil and gas platforms off Trinidad’s northeast coast, bringing them within striking distance — less than 90 miles — of multiple points along Venezuela’s shoreline.
US officials say the flights were training exercises designed to maintain readiness and “provide options” for Trump and the Pentagon, though they could also serve as preparation for expanded missions inside Venezuela.
The US has included Little Birds attack helicopters in its fleet, suggesting potential ground-based operations.
The aircraft, likely launched from the MV Ocean Trader, are expected to support combat search-and-rescue operations.
C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft have also been delivering personnel and equipment to St. Croix.
However, experts warn that Venezuela’s Russian-made S-300 air defences and SA-24 missiles pose serious risks to US helicopters if they cross into Venezuelan airspace.
The military build-up — the largest in the Caribbean since the 1980s — follows at least six deadly strikes on boats off Venezuela’s coast, which Washington claims were carrying drugs.
At least 27 people have been killed.
On Tuesday, six more alleged “narcoterrorists” died when a US strike destroyed their vessel.
A mother in Trinidad and Tobago said her son, a fisherman, was among the dead.
The Pentagon calls the targets “narcoterrorists” and “unlawful combatants.”
Critics call the killings extrajudicial executions and question whether the US is operating outside international law.
But the Trump administration insists the campaign is self-defence, accusing Maduro’s regime of trafficking drugs to America “for far too long.”
“I authorized for two reasons really,” Trump said.
“Number one they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America… A lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of drugs come in through the sea, but we’re going to stop them by land also.”
The president confirmed he had authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela — a rare public acknowledgment — and suggested that “land” strikes could follow.
Asked if the CIA had authority to “take out” Maduro, Trump called it a “ridiculous” question but added: “I think Venezuela is feeling heat.”
The White House has branded Maduro an “illegitimate president leading an illegitimate regime,” and Trump has put a $50 million bounty on his head.
Maduro rattles his sabre
Facing overwhelming US firepower, Venezuelan tyrant Maduro is mobilising troops, militias and Russian-made fighter jets in a show of defiance.
He claims millions of civilians are ready to take up arms and has ordered his general to recruit from Indigenous communities.
“The people are ready for combat, ready for battle,” he declared.
State TV pumps out propaganda portraying the United States as a Nazi-like aggressor bent on stealing Venezuela’s oil.
Footage shows elderly militia members crawling under barbed wire and firing rifles, while soldiers move munitions and mount armoured vehicles along the coast.
“Raise your hands if you want to be a slave to the gringos,” Maduro thundered.
“If you want peace, get ready to earn peace.”
His regime is also leaning on Colombian guerrilla groups like the ELN to help suppress unrest and secure strategic areas.
Diosdado Cabello, Maduro’s No. 2, was filmed driving himself to militia deployments.
“It’s important the world knows that Venezuela is a country of peace,” the crony said, “but we are fierce beasts when we have to defend it.”
Yet behind the bombast, Venezuela’s military is in shambles.
Experts say its 125,000 troops are underfed, poorly trained, and ill-prepared for conventional war.
Former colonel Edward Rodriguez told the Wall Street Journal: “They have been systematically worn down.
“They know it’s a lost cause but they’re trying to buy time.”
Another ex-officer noted that troops haven’t conducted a significant deployment since August and are trained mainly to repress protests, not fight wars.
CIA in the shadows
The CIA’s newly authorised covert role marks a major escalation.
Mick Mulroy, a former CIA paramilitary officer, told the BBC: “In order to conduct covert action, there needs to be a presidential finding for the CIA specially authorizing it.
“Perhaps a real life ‘Sicario’.”
US officials say the main goal is to drive Maduro from power, though they deny any formal plan for regime change.
Maduro, whose presidency is widely contested internationally after, denounced the move: “No to regime change, which reminds us so much of the endless, failed wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and so on. No to CIA-orchestrated coups d’état.”
Venezuela has even appealed to the UN Security Council, demanding it declare the US strikes illegal and condemn what is calls a campaign of “aggression, threat, and harassment”.
Meanwhile, the US has rejected a Venezuelan proposal under which Maduro would step down within three years and hand power to Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.
Commander quits
The sudden resignation of Admiral Alvin Holsey, the four-star commander of US Southern Command, has added to the intrigue.
Holsey’s departure comes less than a year into the post and in the middle of the most significant military buildup of his career.
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Officials say he voiced concerns about the mission and the legality of the strikes.
Senator Jack Reed warned: “At a moment when U.S. forces are building up across the Caribbean and tensions with Venezuela are at a boiling point, the departure of our top military commander in the region sends an alarming signal of instability.”
Inside Trump’s war on drugs
By Harvey Geh, Foreign News Reporter
DONALD Trump has launched his full-scale war on drugs – favouring missiles over law enforcement.
The first day of Trump’s second term kicked off with the designation of narcotraffickers as terrorists – giving him the right to kill them before they can reach American shores.
This is the argument he has used in the face of law experts warning that his decision to strike a suspected drug-smuggling boat on Tuesday was illegal.
Washington-watchers claim that the gangsters should have been arrested – but the White House says that law enforcement is ineffective.
Trump vowed after the blitz: “There’s more where that came from.”
The US President has long spoken of his desire to enact force to take on drug cartels, which he accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of actively backing.
Maduro has denied the allegations, and the last few months have seen teetering escalations deteriorate into a tense standoff.
The US has positioned naval destroyers and soldiers around Maduro’s waters, while the Venezuelan dictator has ordered mass mobilisation of troops.