Proposed United States invasion of Venezuela

Map showing the locations of the United States (in green) and Venezuela (in orange)

During the first presidency of United States President Donald Trump, the possibility of a United States-led invasion of Venezuela was discussed.[1]

History

First Trump Presidency

Within the framework of the crisis in Venezuela, an intervention was raised in 2017 to Donald Trump's advisors, including US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson and the national security advisor, H. R. McMaster (who left the Trump administration from that moment on) and later to several presidents of Latin American countries, among those, Juan Manuel Santos.[1] On both occasions, everyone present asked President Trump not to proceed with the plan.[1] On the the possibility of intervention during the Venezuelan presidential crisis, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Kimberly Breier declared that:

Although our policy is based on a peaceful transition, we have made it very clear that all options are on the table.[2]

In May 2020, Trump said in a conversation with the television network Fox News that "If we ever did anything with Venezuela", in that case "it would be called invasion", explaining: "if I wanted to go into Venezuela I wouldn't make a secret about it", and "I wouldn't send a small, little group, no, no, no. It would be called an army."[3] In June 2020, John Bolton, National Security advisor at the time, published in a book that Trump said that invading Venezuela would be "cool" because It is "really part of the United States".[4]

In May 2020, Trump said in a conversation with the television network Fox News that "If we ever did anything with Venezuela", in that case "it would be called invasion", explaining: "if I wanted to go into Venezuela I wouldn't make a secret about it", and "I wouldn't send a small, little group, no, no, no. It would be called an army."[5] In June 2020, John Bolton, National Security advisor at the time, published in a book that Trump said that invading Venezuela would be "cool" because It is "really part of the United States".[4]

In May 2023, Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia, declared that Trump had made a proposal to then-president Iván Duque to invade Venezuela through Colombia, but that his advisors had stopped him.[6]

In June 2023, Trump said at a press conference in North Carolina, "When I left, Venezuela was ready to collapse. We would have taken it over, we would have gotten all that oil."[7]

Second Trump Presidency

U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has long supported a strong U.S. response to Venezuela's crisis and has said that all options should remain on the table to remove Maduro from power and restore democracy in Venezuela.[8]

Axios reported that President Trump's team wanted regime change in Venezuela. His advisors want to see "dictator" Maduro go the way of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and become "neighbours" with him in Moscow but "regime change doesn't necessarly mean military action". One advisor laughed off Maduro's threat to invade Puerto Rico.[9]

See also

• First presidency of Donald Trump
• United States invasion of Panama

References

1. "El día que Donald Trump sugirió a sus asesores invadir Venezuela". Clarín. August 6, 2018.
2. "¿Cómo sería una invasión de Estados Unidos en Venezuela?". El Mundo (in Spanish). 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
3. "Trump: si decido actuar en Venezuela será con una 'invasión'". Deutsche Welle. May 8, 2020.
4. "Trump dijo que invadir Venezuela sería 'genial', según su exasesor de seguridad nacional". Reuters. June 17, 2020.
5. "Trump: si decido actuar en Venezuela será con una 'invasión'". Deutsche Welle. May 8, 2020.
6. "Gustavo Petro confirmó que 'En el gobierno de Trump se habló de invadir a Venezuela a través de Colombia". Infobae. 3 May 2023.
7. "Donald Trump generó polémica al hablar sobre Venezuela: 'Nos hubiéramos quedado con todo ese petróleo'". La Nación. June 12, 2023.^[dead link‍]
8. Maldonado, Mauricio (2024-11-12). "How would Marco Rubio as secretary of state affect Nicolas Maduro's rule in Venezuela? - CBS Miami". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
9. Caputo, Marc (2025-01-18). "Trump's team wants Maduro to leave Venezuela". Axios. Retrieved 2025-01-27.