Venezuela announced Sunday that it will sharply increase troop deployments in coastal states in response to growing concerns over drug trafficking. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said President Nicolas Maduro has ordered reinforcements in Zulia’s Guajira region and Falcon’s Paraguana peninsula, describing the areas as key trafficking corridors.
The buildup will also extend to Nueva Esparta Island and the states of Sucre and Delta Amacuro. Around 25,000 soldiers will be stationed, more than doubling the 10,000 currently deployed along Venezuela’s border with Colombia.
“No one is going to come and do the work for us. No one is going to step on this land and do what we’re supposed to do,” Padrino said in a video statement shared online.
Rising tensions with Washington
The decision follows the U.S. announcement that it will deploy an additional 10 fighter jets to Puerto Rico to target drug cartels. The move adds to an existing American military presence in the Caribbean and comes after a U.S. strike last week sank a Venezuelan vessel allegedly carrying narcotics, killing 11 people.
President Donald Trump has defended the military escalation, saying the fight against narcotics is necessary to curb overdose deaths in the United States. He rejected accusations from Maduro that Washington is seeking regime change, framing the crackdown as a response to what he described as a war claiming hundreds of thousands of American lives.
CNN reported Friday that the White House is weighing further options, including possible strikes on cartel targets inside Venezuela — a step that would represent a major escalation in the region.
Maduro, meanwhile, has accused Washington of using the anti-drug campaign as a pretext for interference in Venezuela’s affairs. He has insisted his government is capable of addressing trafficking within its borders without U.S. involvement.
What The Author Thiknks
The rapid buildup of forces on both sides signals more than a fight against cartels — it risks pushing the U.S. and Venezuela into direct confrontation. While both nations frame their moves as defensive, the overlapping deployments in the Caribbean create a volatile mix where a single miscalculation could spiral into something far larger. The drug war has long been used as justification for military action, but when it starts looking like a shadow conflict between states, the humanitarian costs could easily outweigh the intended benefits.
Featured image credit: Beatrice Murch via Flickr
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