Not since 1989 and its invasion of Panama has the United States so ostentatiously wielded its “big stick” in the Caribbean. The ultimate target of this supposed policing operation is Venezuela’s dictator Nicolás Maduro, for years the principal antagonist of the US in the western hemisphere. After several previous failed attempts to eject the Chavista socialist from power, Washington once again has the former bus driver in its crosshairs. The USS Gerald R Ford in the Strait of Gibraltar before arriving in the Caribbean. This psychological pressure campaign against Maduro is just the latest sign that under Trump, Washington has adopted a new more muscular interpretation of its interests in the western hemisphere.

Source: The Irish Times December 07, 2025 10:34 UTC