Archive December 3, 2025

President Donald Trump has recently launched a sharp attack on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, accusing him of stoking drug trafficking and causing mass emigration from the Caribbean.

Trump has launched an anti-drug trafficking campaign against Venezuela in recent months by increasing pressure and mounting military spending in the Caribbean Sea. Caracas claims that US actions are merely intended to overthrow Maduro’s government.

According to media reports, Trump met with his team for “next steps” on Venezuela on Monday. Concerns about a potential war have been raised by Washington’s continued deployment of military assets in the area.

Maduro stated to a crowd outside the Miraflores Palace last weekend that he wanted to have “sovereignty, equality, and freedom” with the US, but only under the pretext of “sovereignty, equality, and freedom.” Never, ever, Colonia! Never, ever, “slaves”!

Is US-Venezuela on the verge of war with Venezuela?

Trump’s confirmation of his approval of the CIA carrying out secret operations in Venezuela was made in recent weeks. He has also deployed the largest aircraft carrier in the world, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the Caribbean with thousands of soldiers and F-35 military jets.

Trump stated on November 20 that Venezuelan land attacks were on the horizon. Trump told reporters last weekend not to “read anything” into his recent actions, even though some may view the president’s remarks and operations as a military action preparation.

Venezuela has been conducting regular military exercises to prepare for any potential attacks over the past few weeks.

Trump’s opposition to Maduro: Why?

Washington’s recent display of force recalls a a long history of military interventions by successive US governments, frequently motivated by fear of hostile powers close to US borders.

Washington and Caracas have been tense ever since the 1990s due to tensions linked to Hugo Chavez, Maduro’s left-wing predecessor. Following Chavez’s passing in 2013, the bilateral relationship deteriorated even more.

Relations between US military operations in recent months and alleged Venezuelan drug smugglers in the Caribbean have dominated.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio alleged Maduro to be responsible for “trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe” and the “leader of the designated ‘narcoterrorist’ organization Cartel de los Soles” in a statement in July. He disproved his assertion with no supporting evidence.

Additionally, experts assert that Cartel de los Soles is not a cartel.

Maduro claims that Washington used the drug war as a pretext to smuggle Venezuelan oil and orchestrates regime change.

What steps has the Trump administration taken?

In the area, the US has deployed an aircraft carrier and amassed 15, 000 troops.

Up to 83 people have been killed by it since September when it launched at least 21 strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Meanwhile, Caracas claims that the US is seeking regime change while the US’s current arsenal in the Caribbean Sea far exceeds what is required for a drug-trafficking operation.

A Delaware judge ordered the sale of Venezuelan oil company Citgo, a Houston-based subsidiary of the state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA), last week to make up for billions of dollars in debt that had been owed.

Venezuela on Tuesday denounced Venezuela’s opposition to the oil company’s “forced sale,” which would obliterate Venezuela of important foreign earnings.

Trump&nbsp also stated that Venezuelan airspace had been “closed” on November 29. His comments came after the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning about a “potentially hazardous situation” in Venezuelan airspace.

Trump’s recent actions in Venezuela, including the threat of military strikes, indicate a willingness to cause tensions, despite his professing opposition to “forever wars.”

Are boat strikes permitted?

The US strikes in international waters are illegal under both domestic and international law, according to numerous legal scholars. The US Congress is looking into whether survivors of an initial attack perished in a second attack on an alleged drug boat in September. The deadly attack has been defended by the White House.

The US strikes on alleged boats are “not compatible with international law,” according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He has expressed his concern about Venezuela’s growing hostility.

Who are the main supporters of Venezuela?

A common resistance to US influence in the region brings Venezuela’s top political allies together. Russia offers diplomatic support and military support, continuing to be its strongest geopolitical supporter. Venezuela’s top oil exporter, China, also has economic support.

In addition to being anti-Western, Venezuela and Iran are both looking for alternative economic and diplomatic channels in the face of sanctions.

Venezuela has long-standing ideological allies in Latin America, including Cuba, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. These governments consistently support Caracas in regional bodies and maintain close ties through programs like ALBA-TCP and Petrocaribe.

Brazil and Colombia’s governments are left-wing-run, but they have rejected Maduro’s reelection in 2024. They have, however, expressed concern about Venezuela’s military threats.

Why is Venezuela not wealthier?

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, with 303 billion barrels expected to be produced by 2023. However, it only exported $4 billion worth of crude oil that year, which is largely attributable to US sanctions imposed during Trump’s first term, which was significantly lower than other oil-producing nations.

PDVSA, which produces the majority of Venezuela’s oil, has experienced difficulties such as ageing infrastructure, underinvestment, mismanagement, and sanctions, all of which have prevented the country from fully exploiting its vast reserves.

Venezuela exported only $4.05 billion worth of crude oil in 2023, according to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC). Saudi Arabia ($181 billion), the US ($125 billion), and Russia ($122 billion) are among the major exporters with this figure.

The cost of imports has also increased as a result of the sanctions. The IMF projects that the nation’s goods shortages and rabid inflation will reach 600 percent in the coming year. Millions of people have recently been forced to flee to neighboring countries as a result of the economic crisis, which has been made worse by the US sanctions.

Venezuela’s gross domestic product (GDP) was $119.8 billion in 2024, making it one of Latin America’s smallest economies. Years of severe sanctions and a reliance on oil have contributed to Venezuela’s economic instability.

What has the international response been?

Maduro requested assistance from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on November 30 to assist his nation in reversing the Trump administration’s “growing and illegal threats.”

Venezuela’s President Maduro wrote, “I hope I can count on your best efforts to stop this growing aggression,” in a letter to OPEC members.

Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia, claimed on November 25 that Trump is “not thinking about the democratization of Venezuela, let alone the narco-trafficking.” The Caribbean nation, according to him, handles only a small portion of the world’s drug trade.

What might come next?

Trump responded to reporters at the White House on November 17 when asked about the possibility of deploying US forces there. “I don’t rule out that,” he said. Nothing is ruled out by me. Venezuela needs to be looked after only.

Then, on Monday, Reuters reported that Trump called on November 21 and offered to let Maduro leave Venezuela for a safe ride. According to allegations, Maduro allegedly told Trump that he wanted to leave Venezuela if his family received full legal amnesty.

More than 100 Venezuelan government officials are reportedly facing sanctions after the Venezuelan president is asked to remove them, many of whom the US accuse of human rights violations, drug trafficking, or corruption.

As federal authorities prepared to launch a massive immigration crackdown targeting hundreds of undocumented Somalis in the state of Minnesota, US President Donald Trump verbally attacked Somali immigrants on Tuesday.

In a long rant to reporters, Trump said he did not want Somali immigrants in the United States, claiming that residents of the East African country “contributed nothing” to the US while relying on aid. Trump did not present any supporting evidence for these assertions.

The US president has just launched a number of disparaging verbal attacks against the country’s Somali community. During his first term as president, he made similar remarks on social media last week. Trump has also repeatedly verbally targeted Ilhan Omar, the congressional representative who is a US citizen of Somali descent.

Except for white South Africans, for whom the US has increased quotas, the president has appeared to concentrate on immigrants from developing nations who have harsh policies or remarks.

According to an Afghan national’s fatal shooting of two National Guard members last week, the US has stopped immigration from 19 nations that are considered “high risk.” At the end of October, the Trump administration reduced the number of refugees the US will accept next year to just 7, 500 – the lowest number since&nbsp, the 1980 Refugee Act – with preference to be given to white South Africans.

Then, on Tuesday, US media reported that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would launch an operation in Somalia-area towns in the coming days.

Within the past 50 years, a large portion of the Somali diaspora has settled in the US. Here’s what we know about why Trump is targeting the community now.

Trump’s statement: what?

Speaking to reporters following a US Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump said he didn’t want Somalis in the US, describing them as “garbage”.

If we continue to import garbage into our country, he said, “We could go one way or the other, and we’re going the wrong way.”

They don’t contribute anything. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you”, Trump told reporters without specifying whether he was referring to citizens or irregular migrants.

Some people will say, “Oh, that’s not politically correct,” they say. Their country is no good for a reason, he said, and we don’t want them in our nation.

“These are people who do nothing but complain”, Trump continued. We don’t want them in our country because they complain and get nothing from where they came from. Let them re-enter their situation and make a fix for it.

Last week, in an address to the nation following the shooting of two National Guard members, which left one dead and another critically injured, Trump ordered that people from 19 blacklisted countries who held US green or permanent residency cards be “re-examined”.

In that statement, he then criticized the Somali community in Minnesota, saying “Suspenseful of Somalians are ripping off our country and tearing apart that once great state.”

In the upcoming days, an ICE operation focusing on Somali communities in the Minneapolis-St Paul area, according to a report released on Tuesday.

A sweep by ICE officers will round up undocumented people for deportation, AP reported, citing a person familiar with the plans.

The area is anticipated to be flooded by at least 100 ICE agents. According to a source close to the plan, Somalis who are attempting to obtain legal status may also be swept up.

Several states in recent months have experienced ICE raids on undocumented people, including Chicago, Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York City and Phoenix. According to the Department of Homeland Security, at least 527, 000 people have been deported from the US by October since the Trump administration took office in January.

Minnesota’s governor Tim Walz criticised the plan for Minneapolis in a post on X on Tuesday, saying that while the state applauded the prosecution of crimes, “pulling a PR stunt and indiscriminately targeting immigrants is not a real solution to a problem.”

City officials also condemned President Trump’s attack on the Somali community at a press conference on Tuesday and promised not to cooperate with ICE agents conducting migrant checks.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described the potential action as “terrorizing” and declared, “Of course, this is a frightening moment for our Somali community.”

That is not American, he said. That’s not what we are about”, he said. We adore you and support you in our Somali community.

Jamal Osman, a member of the Minneapolis City Council who was 14 years old when he immigrated from Somalia to the US, said at the conference: “The city of Minneapolis stands behind you.

“Somali Americans are here to stay”, he added. We adore this state. This nation is our favorite. This is home. We won’t be going anywhere.

Yes . On November 21, Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he was “immediately” terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali immigrants in Minnesota, referring to a programme designed to provide emergency refuge for people whose countries are in crisis. That program includes about 705 Somalis.

Trump made the claim without providing any proof that “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State” and that governor Walz was in charge of overseeing a state that had turned into a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.”

“Send them back to where they came from”, Trump said. “It’s over!”

After Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist, published allegations of welfare fraud against Somalis in Minnesota in a magazine called City Journal on November 19, Trump made accusations against the Somali community.

In the report, Rufo, citing unnamed” counterterrorism sources “and a police detective, claimed that Somalis benefiting from US welfare programmes were sending back huge amounts in remittances to their country, and that some of that money had ended up with al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda-linked armed group controlling some rural parts of Somalia.

The privately funded $300 million Feeding Our Future charity program, which falsely claimed to be feeding millions of children during the COVID-19 crisis but ended up taking state funds, was one of the programs Rufo mentioned as fraudulent.

Federal prosecutors have found guilty the white ringleader Aimee Bock and several Somali-Americans.

In July, Somalia became one of 12 countries whose citizens are subject to a US travel ban. During the first Trump administration, it was also subject to a travel ban.

Trump’s intention to attack Ilhan Omar: Why?

Trump also made disparaging remarks about Democratic congresswoman Omar in his Tuesday attack, calling her” garbage”.

Omar, 43, a Somali immigrant who immigrated to the US in 1995 as a child, has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration and has been a member of the US Congress since then.

Trump claimed on Tuesday that “she’s an incompetent person, she’s a real terrible person,” adding without providing any proof that Omar hates everyone and is anti-Semitic.

Trump’s verbal attacks on Omar are not new. The representative has been repeatedly criticized by the president for her hijab and style of clothing.

Omar reacted to Trump’s most recent comments on Tuesday, saying, “His obsession with me is creepy.

His obsession with me is creepy. I’m hoping he receives the assistance he so desperately needs. https://t.co/pxOpAChHse

Omar also refuted claims that Minnesotan funds have been devolved into al-Shabab or that Somali gangs are pervasive in the state. She said at a briefing last week, “I challenge you to come forward with evidence if there is any.” You can’t victimise a whole community for the actions of a few. “

According to data from the US Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey, there are currently about 260, 000 people of Somali descent living in the US. In addition to the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Sweden, and Canada, there are other significant diaspora communities that are among the largest Somali communities outside of Somalia.

Some Somalis arrived in the US in the 1960s as students, after the then-British Somaliland gained independence. Later, larger waves of people flocked to the troubled East African nation to flee the country’s protracted civil war, which was brought on by armed resistance against Mohamed Siad Barre’s military regime. Although the government continues to fight rebel groups and armed militants, that lasted from 1988 to 2000.

Most Somalis in the US live in Minnesota, where a number of social programmes are in existence, particularly in the Minneapolis-St Paul area, home to 63, 000 people of Somali descent. According to the World Population Review, states with large populations like Ohio (20, 000), Washington (15, 000), Virginia (3, 953), Georgia (3, 538), and California (21, 000).

How has the US handled the Somali diaspora?

Minneapolis hosts several hundred Somali businesses, mostly in retail and food services and including restaurants, grocery stores and clothing stores.

According to a 2017 report from the local publication MinnPost, Somalis who arrived in the state during the civil war were frequently faced difficulties learning English, but were able to work in unskilled occupations, like at meatpacking factories.

More Somalis diversified into the fields of finance, health, and education as the community grew. They also started getting into local politics. Omar became the first Somali-American representative to serve in the US Congress in 2019.

According to a report released by the state government in 2023, Somalis are only 19 years old on average in Minnesota. Most (53, 000) speak English with professional or limited proficiency, but the group also has one of the lowest levels of educational attainment among foreign populations in the state.

Somali men are frequently referred to as active in the labor force, despite the fact that there are more women employed than men. According to a 2016 report from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, about 84 percent of male Somali refugees between the ages of 25 and 64 were employed in the state of Kentucky, up from 64 percent of females.

About 58 percent of Somalis in Minnesota were born in the US. About 87 percent of foreigners are naturalized citizens. About 50% of those people emigrated to the US in 2010 or later.

US authorities have in the past struggled to prevent the recruitment of young Somali-American men by al-Shabab and other armed groups. More than 20 Somali-American men visited Somalia to join al-Shabab in 2007. Since then, only a small number of cases have been identified. In September, a 23-year-old man in Minnesota pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to join a designated armed group.

The Somali-American community in Minneapolis is the most active in the country. Regardless of immigration status, the City works every day to make Minneapolis a welcoming place for everyone. More: https://t.co/FYJkJO3ZXx pic. twitter.com/t2Y8LwDVoX