Commerce Not Chaos: Trump’s Plan To Crush Venezuela Without Fighting A War
Trump’s "complete blockade" on sanctioned oil tankers threatens to disrupt Maduro's (and Cuba's) black market. It's also a warning to Putin: without Russia's shadow fleet, its war is unsustainable.
NOTE: The Panicans’ panties are in a proverbial wad over the invasion plans they assume Donald Trump has for Venezuela.
Do they really never learn? These same “experts” assured us that attacking Iran’s nuclear sites would “start World War III”, lead to “thousands of American dead”, and skyrocket gasoline to $30 a gallon. How’s that working out for them?
As we have painstakingly demonstrated, Donald Trump’s strategy is carrot-and-stick: enrich countries that behave well, impoverish those who don’t. Is that backed up with the threat of overwhelming force? Absolutely. But if you cut off, or at least greatly curtail, the enemy’s ability to fight, you rarely have to use that force.
That’s exactly the impetus for the new arms sale to Taiwan and virtually every other action the Administration has taken. Reagan understood this principle perfectly. So did Teddy Roosevelt. Both succeeded where the Neocons failed.
And that’s why Trump will succeed in Venezuela. Putin should take note. — RDM
by Nitin J. Ticku
December 19, 2025
There are apprehensions that Donald Trump is headed towards starting a new military conflict against Venezuela.
Over the past four months, the U.S. has steadily built up its military presence in the Caribbean. This includes deployments of naval vessels, aircraft, and troops described as the largest U.S. presence in the area since the 1989 invasion of Panama.
The buildup reportedly began in August 2025 with air and naval forces, including a nuclear-powered submarine, the U.S.’s latest and most advanced aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, and surveillance aircraft, and has continued steadily through the fall.
During this period, the U.S. military has taken several offensive steps against Venezuela. The U.S. has so far launched over two dozen lethal strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, alleged to be involved in drug trafficking. According to reports, nearly 100 people have already died in these strikes.
At the end of November, Trump publicly stated that the airspace “above and surrounding Venezuela” should be considered “closed in its entirety” to airlines, pilots, and traffickers.
Besides, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) combat jets, such as the B-1 Lancer bombers and B-52 bombers, and the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18 fighter jets, flew over the Gulf of Venezuela during the U.S. military’s “show of force”.
In December, U.S. forces seized the oil tanker Skipper off Venezuela’s coast in international waters.
Caracas alleges that the U.S. is trying to impose regime change in Venezuela.
These escalating steps suggested that the U.S. might be gradually moving towards initiating a military action against Venezuela.
However, Trump’s latest announcement suggests that he has a very different gameplan, one which involves defeating Venezuela and forcing President Nicolás Maduro to resign without initiating an all-out war.
