The United States has ordered warships and Marines to waters near Venezuela, escalating tensions with President Nicolás Maduro’s government, which has mobilized millions of militia members in response.
President Donald Trump has directed the deployment of an amphibious fleet, including three missile destroyers and three helicopter assault ships carrying between 2,200 and 4,000 Marines. The move, framed as part of Washington’s campaign against “drug trafficking,” according to Reuters and AFP.
The vessels USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima, and USS Fort Lauderdale will arrive in the region as early as Sunday, bringing 4,500 personnel, including 2,200 Marines, said a U.S. official, speaking anonymously, to Reuters.
Additional warships — the USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson — all guided-missile destroyers equipped with the Aegis combat system, have also been ordered to the area. At least one submarine is expected as well.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday described Maduro’s government as a “narco-terrorist cartel,” calling the Venezuelan president a “fugitive leader of this cartel.” She said Trump would use “all means” to stop drugs from “flooding our country.”
Earlier this month, Washington doubled its bounty for information leading to Maduro’s arrest on drug trafficking charges, raising the reward to $50 million.
Maduro dismissed the U.S. reward as a “pathetic” propaganda move. On Monday, he announced the mobilization of 4.5 million members of Venezuela’s National Militia, created by the late President Hugo Chávez, to secure the country’s territory. Official figures suggest the force counts nearly 5 million members, made up of civilians and reservists under the command of the general staff.
The U.S. has refused to recognize Maduro’s disputed victory in Venezuela’s July 2024 presidential election. Washington accuses him of heading an international drug trafficking network. Trump, since returning to the White House in January 2025, has repeatedly used the fight against narcotics to justify major policy moves, from tariffs on Mexico and Canada to mass arrests of Latin American migrants.
