NatSec Matters Pressure on Caracas - Inside the U.S. Counter Drug-Shift: David Shedd
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Oct 22, 2025 
David Shedd, a former CIA officer and acting director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, dives into Venezuela's increasing threats to U.S. interests. He outlines a significant shift in U.S. strategy to targeting narco-traffickers as if they were terrorist entities, using military assets like MQ-9 Reaper drones. Shedd reveals Venezuela's role as a hub for illicit migration and malign influences from countries like Cuba and Iran. The discussion also touches on Colombia and Mexico's roles in countering these threats and the potential for U.S. covert actions in the region.
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Cartels Treated Like Terrorists
- The U.S. has shifted to treat major drug cartels like terrorist organizations and is using military tools to target them at source.
- This approach moves beyond border interdiction to striking traffickers and infrastructure offshore and on land.
Military Tools Deployed Offshore
- The campaign uses MQ-9 Reaper drones, Navy ships, F-35s, P-8s and submarines to disrupt trafficking off Venezuela.
- The force posture signals a sustained military-intelligence effort, not isolated law-enforcement actions.
Venezuela As A Transshipment Hub
- Venezuela functions mainly as a transshipment hub collaborating with Colombian armed groups and cartels.
- Maduro's regime and groups like Cartel de los Soles use Venezuelan territory to move drugs to the U.S. and Europe with impunity.