Venezuela Hugo Chavez called George W. Bush “the devil,” this was more than personal animosity: it revealed the deepening rift between the United States and Venezuela. Now, these tensions have escalated into economic sanctions, contested elections, military deployments and civilian casualties.
So, how’d we get here? Venezuela, home to the world’s largest oil reserves, was one of Latin America’s wealthiest nations. In the 70s, Venezuelan oil exports flourished, attracting many large foreign oil companies to gain the technology needed to refine its crude oil. US and Venezuelan relations blossomed, leading American oil companies to build refineries along the Gulf coast to specifically process the nearby oil.
However, this huge amount of money flowing into Venezuela’s economy had given way to corruption and overdependence. When the price of oil collapsed in the 1980s, the undiversified Venezuelan economy suffered. Inflation soared, mass layoffs were executed, and government measures like currency devaluation and tax increases started riots.
Through this unrest, Hugo Chavez staged a failed coup against the government in 1992 and won the 1998 presidential elections, promising redistribution of the oil wealth; however, he soon seized many foreign oil assets, reducing foreign investment and damaging infrastructure. Moreover, Chavez eliminated presidential term limits, leaning towards a dictatorship. When Chavez died in 2013, Nicolas Maduro continued this institution of an authoritarian regime.
When oil prices fell again, the Venezuelan economy had yet to diversify outside of oil. With protests erupting, Maduro responded with violent crackdowns. This prompted the 2015 Obama administration to deem Venezuela a national security threat and imposed sanctions.
The Trump administration intensified these sanctions after the controversy of the 2018 Venezuelan elections. Trump expelled Venezuelan diplomats, stopping them from selling oil to U.S. companies and accessing the US Gulf Coast oil refineries, crippling the Venezuelan economy.
Just last year, the Biden administration attempted to ease sanctions for a fair 2024 election, hoping to remove Madero. Yet, Maduro did not comply, instead prompting arrests of his political opponents. Trump likely realizes that another tactic to remove Maduro from power is necessary. He has already labeled Madero a “narco-terroist” and placed a $15 million bounty on his head, which he’s now raised to $50 million. Trump has also authorized the Navy to attack any suspected cartel boats and is currently surrounding the Venezuelan coast with warships.
Benito Aria ‘28 condemned these military actions, saying, “These military actions goes against what the social teachings of the Catholic Church are.”
Trump’s officially stated purpose for these ships is to “conduct anti-narcotics operations”. Removing Maduro would align with Western interests as it would stabilize global oil prices, weaken Russia’s economy and remove a regional threat.
In response, Maduro has called for a mobilization of his military and enlisted thousands of new recruits for the militia to protect his power. Joaquin Reyes ‘28 opined, “Either let illegal drugs poison and kill both our citizens and the citizens of the Americas, or do what needs to be done and increase pressure.”
Either way, human lives will be and are being lost in this conflict. As of now, seventeen people have died in U.S. drug boat searches. The morality of these tensions is up for debate, but the real truth is that the United States and Venezuela have never been closer to war or armed intervention until now.