US expands Caribbean war drills, Venezuela warns of rising threats
3 Min Read
Venezuela denounces the US' increasing naval and aerial deployment across the Caribbean, warning of CIA sabotage plans and growing threats to regional stability.
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Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson conduct a foreign object and debris walk down to prepare an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter in the Eastern Pacific, August 11, 2025. (US SOUTHCOM)
The United States conducted an unprecedented naval and aerial drill on Thursday across the Atlantic and Caribbean fronts, escalating pressure on Venezuela as President Nicolas Maduro’s government warned of a new CIA sabotage plot.
According to journalist Madelein Garcia, the large-scale exercise featured command-and-control, intelligence, bombing, and combat aircraft launched from the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier. The maneuver stretched over Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, and Colombia, extending into northern Venezuelan airspace.
Venezuelan defense sources characterized the mission as a “disproportionate and crude” provocation carried out under the pretext of combating drug trafficking.
US Op. Southern Spear raises alarms over regional militarization
Named Operation Southern Spear, the US' mobilization is viewed by Venezuelan authorities and regional analysts as a direct step toward the militarization of the Caribbean. Local reports estimate the cost at around $10 million for a roughly 12-hour deployment, considered the largest US air operation in the region in nearly three months.
Caracas maintains that the US' deployment is designed to undermine regional peace and stability, while far-right opposition figures have publicly echoed Pentagon talking points. Venezuelan media also noted that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado departed the country on Sunday after being accused of “promoting an invasion and supporting any kind of attack against her nation.”
Maduro urges vigilance: 'Defense against CIA'
President Nicolas Maduro condemned the US operation and called on Venezuelan workers and security institutions to remain alert to what he described as CIA schemes targeting vital infrastructure.
“Bolivarian militia, combat units, and the comprehensive defense plan require everyone to protect their space, oil, gas, and electricity facilities. Defend them from the CIA,” Maduro declared, addressing workers ahead of the Constituent Congress of the Working Class.
He stressed that “no threat will overcome the nation’s force for peace,” arguing that the CIA “has been given money to damage the national economy” and urging strengthened popular vigilance across the country.
As Operation Southern Spear heightens fears of a wider intimidation strategy, Venezuela reaffirms its commitment to peace, sovereignty, and the defense of its territory in the face of what it describes as escalating imperial aggression.
Read more: Venezuela reaffirms historical sovereignty over Essequibo region
