U.S. Department of Defense

The Department of Defense (DoD) directs U.S. military operations, including the naval deployment in the Caribbean and air and missile strikes on alleged narco‑trafficking vessels. - Implements hemispheric military posture and anti‑cartel strikes

On December 5, 2025, the Trump administration released a 33‑page National Security Strategy (NSS) that formally revives a 19th‑century idea of the Western Hemisphere as a U.S. sphere of influence, declaring a Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine and promising to reassert American preeminence across the Americas. The document codifies a shift already visible in 2025 military operations: air and missile strikes on alleged drug‑trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that had killed at least 115 people in 35 strikes by year‑end, the designation of major cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and naval deployments around Venezuela. This campaign, formally named Operation Southern Spear on November 13, 2025, culminated on January 3, 2026, when U.S. forces launched Operation Absolute Resolve, a large‑scale military strike on Caracas that captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, placing them in U.S. custody on narco‑terrorism charges—the first forcible regime change under the Trump Corollary.

Updated Jan 4

Provides the muscle: warships, surveillance, and strike capacity around Venezuela. - Backstopping interdiction threat with ships, aircraft, and regional deployments.

Trump’s Venezuela “blockade” threat is no longer just rhetoric—it’s being scaffolded by fresh Treasury actions and a widening target universe. Since the blockade announcement, Washington has added new Venezuela-linked sanctions and separately hit Iran’s shadow-fleet network, expanding the pool of already-sanctioned vessels that could be swept into real-world stop-and-search enforcement if they touch Venezuela’s trade.

Updated Dec 20, 2025