The United States is orchestrating the largest military build-up in the Caribbean in decades, with over 10,000 US troops deployed aboard 10 warships, including a nuclear submarine, destroyers, and a missile cruiser, patrolling off Venezuela’s coast.

In an article for Stop the War Coalition UK, Jeremy Corbyn, a member of the UK Parliament and former Labor leader, contends that the situation is not about drugs but rather regime change.

US military escalation: A cover for regime change

At least seven small boats, alleged to be carrying narcotics, have been bombed, killing over 30 people. No identities, no evidence, no due process. These are "extrajudicial killings," not anti-drug operations, Corbyn believes.

Despite Trump’s claims that these boats are “responsible for the deaths of 25,000 American people” the real causes of drug abuse in the US-poverty, exploitation, and money laundering, are being ignored.

Corbyn notes that most cocaine doesn’t even transit through Venezuela; it moves via commercial shipping lanes in the Pacific, detailing that if the US really cared about reducing drug-related harm, it would address systemic issues at home.

A war for oil and hegemony

The real motive, Corbyn argues, is control over Venezuela’s vast oil wealth and a continued effort to suppress Latin America’s shift toward multipolarity. Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves. For decades, Washington has sought to reverse the Bolivarian Revolution that redistributed oil wealth from elites to the people.

This aggression comes as Latin American nations are increasingly aligning with BRICS partners, particularly China, challenging US dominance in the region. Economic sanctions on Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela are part of this broader imperialist campaign.

Hypocrisy and selective intervention

While the US pushes for regime change in Venezuela, it turns a blind eye to right-wing failures in Argentina, where economic collapse, poverty, and corruption have soared under a US-backed president.

The message is clear: military intervention is not about democracy or human rights, it’s about strategic control.

Any US-backed war would devastate the Venezuelan people and threaten the stability of the entire region. That’s why Colombia, Brazil, and Barbados have all condemned Washington’s militarization.

Corbyn concludes that the so-called "War on Drugs" is nothing but a smokescreen for imperialism. And the real victims are already piling up, unidentified, untried, and bombed at sea.

War serves the interests of a few: oil companies, arms dealers, and political elites and Corbyn urges the UK to take a stand and no longer be complicit in its silence.