What is Trump's plan for Venezuela?

The US military build-up off Venezuela has been going on for nearly five months but the Trump administration’s strategy is still unclear. The most dramatic development came last week when it was reported that the CIA had carried out a drone attack on a port facility in early December. The target was an installation suspected of storing drugs for shipment to the US. It was the first time the US military had struck a target inside Venezuela and marked a significant stepping up of pressure on the regime of Nicolas Maduro in Caracas. Although Maduro did not confirm the attack, his offer to the US to talk about drugs and oil and any other issue suggested the Venezuelan president had been rattled by the CIA strike. Trump has threatened recently that he might give the go ahead for land attacks in Venezuela. Until the reported CIA drone strike, the US Navy operating in the Caribbean had been targeting suspected drug-trafficking boats coming out of Venezuela. So far about 35 boats have been destroyed, killing 115 people. The US Navy and IS Coast Guard have also been engaged in imposing a blockade to stop oil tankers breaching international sanctions. Will the offer by Maduro for talks with the US lead to a reduction in tension in the region, or will Trump ignore him and launch the threatened land strikes? With little sign of a breakthrough in the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, it seems likely that the Trump administration will continue to pursue a tough line with Maduro in the hope of achieving a diplomatic victory against a leader condemned by Washington as a drug baron. It would appear Trump’s main objective is to force Maduro to step down and go into exile. But for that to happen, Trump would probably have to authorise a substantially increased level of military action against Venezuela; and, so far, apart from the CIA drone strike on the port facility, the president has not made use of the awesome firepower at his disposal off Venezuela. Until now the use of force has been relatively modest: drone attacks on the suspected drug-trafficking boats and the CIA’s covert mission. A much larger show of force, deploying the ground-attack fighter jets on the carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, and possibly Marines on the amphibious warships in the region, would effectively be a statement of war against the Venezuelan regime. There is no evidence at the moment that Trump wants to go that far which is why the offer of talks by Maduro might just lower the tension and raise hopes of some sort of deal without the US having to resort to war. In many ways it would be an ill omen if 2026 were to start with a new war involving the US, particularly since Trump has emphasised his desire to avoid wars. It would be an awesome achievement for this new year if the Trump administration could avoid a war in Venezuela, bring the war in Ukraine to an end and ensure the next phase of the ceasefire deal in Gaza, with the disarming of Hamas and the start of a reconstruction programme in the long-suffering Palestinian territory. PLEASE BUY AGENT REDRUTH, MY NEW SPY THRILLER. I PROMISE YOU, YOU WILL LOVE IT. GO TO AMAZON OR WATERSTONES.