Latest updates on Venezuela: What we know as U.S. warships amass near the coast
U.S. warships are amassing off the coast of Venezuela to prepare for a possible strike against military installations inside the country, Miami Herald reporting has confirmed.
And the Bolivarian National Militia, a civilian reserve force within the country, is conducting military training of everyday Venezuelans.
Here are the latest updates on the growing tensions between President Donald Trump’s administration and Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro:
A war on drugs or a regime-change campaign?
Despite historical evidence that narcotics trafficked through Venezuela aren’t likely bound for the United States, Trump is casting the military campaign as a literal war on drugs, perhaps making the idea of intervention more palatable to the country, particularly the isolationist supporters who helped return him to the White House.
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Are Venezuelans able to go about their daily lives?
Daily life in at least one of Venezuela’s major cities, Maracaibo, the country’s second-largest, seemed to go on as normal — children being dropped off at schools and adults still going to and from work. However, the city had seen a large, unusual influx of uniformed security forces earlier Friday. They were detaining drivers and passersby at checkpoints and demanding identification.
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What’s happening with the warships?
Sources have told the Herald the U.S. plans to attack military installations inside Venezuela that are used by a Venezuelan drug cartel with ties to Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his top aides. The attacks could start within the coming days, the sources said.
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How many warships are in the area?
Since August, the U.S. has deployed a major military force in the southern Caribbean near Venezuela, including destroyers, amphibious troops and surveillance aircraft. The military buildup has grown this fall, with a U.S. Navy warship arriving in Trinidad and Tobago last Sunday. The island nation is close to Venezuela’s northern coast.
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What do the photos show?
Photos and video show U.S. warships conducting military exercises off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean nation that is seven miles off the northern coast of Venezuela.
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Have people been killed in U.S. strikes off Latin America?
U.S. strikes against vessels suspected of carrying drugs off the eastern Pacific coast of Latin America have killed 61 alleged traffickers as of this week.
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What does the United Nations say about this?
The Trump administration’s deadly bombing campaign of alleged drug-running vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean is unlawful and should be investigated, the United Nations’ top human rights official said Friday.
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What is Venezuela’s reaction to U.S. military buildup?
Maduro has threatened to retaliate against Trinidad and Tobago if it helps Washington in any attack on Venezuela. The USS Gravely, a U. S. Navy warship, arrived in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, on Oct. 26.
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What’s Maduro’s alleged connection to drug cartel?
The U.S., which has posted a $50 million bounty for Maduro’s arrest, claims he plays a leading role in the Cartel de los Soles — Cartel of the Suns — a drug-trafficking cartel embedded in Venezuela’s military.
U.S. officials believe the cartel, which works with other transnational criminal networks, exports around 500 tons of cocaine yearly, split between Europe and the United States.
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This story was originally published October 31, 2025 at 4:34 PM.
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