Politics Weekly America “This is war”: Is Trump about to invade Venezuela?
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Dec 5, 2025 Tom Phillips, The Guardian's Latin America correspondent in Brazil, dives into the escalating tension around Donald Trump's focus on Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro. They discuss the political turmoil in Venezuela, the implications of U.S. military actions, and the misinformation surrounding drug trafficking. Phillips debunks claims linking Venezuela to fentanyl and highlights the humanitarian crisis caused by migration. He warns of potential escalation and the risks posed by reckless military strategies, drawing parallels to past conflicts.
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Escalation Creates Mixed Outcomes
- The Trump administration has massively escalated pressure on Venezuela with rewards, deployments and strikes in the Caribbean Sea.
- That campaign creates simultaneous risks of war and sudden normalization with unclear outcomes.
Personal And Strategic Motives
- Personal humiliation from a failed 2019 removal attempt likely motivates Trump's renewed focus on Maduro.
- Strategic aims also include keeping rival powers out of Latin America under a modern Monroe-like doctrine.
Migration Is Massive, Not Manufactured
- Venezuela has produced a historic migration crisis with roughly 8 million people displaced since 2013.
- US sanctions worsened the collapse, but the exodus largely affected neighbouring Latin American countries more than the US.