Venezuela’s Maduro feeling the heat as 8 U.S. warships target narco-terrorists

by WorldTribune Staff, September 1, 2025 Real World News

President Donald Trump’s deployment of eight U.S. warships to the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela’s coast were billed as routine enforcement efforts to keep drug cartels from getting their products into the United States, but a source close to the administration told the New York Post on Saturday that the “clock is about to strike midnight” for Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.

The USS Lake Eerie crossed the Panama Canal from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea Friday night — over a week after Trump directed the Navy warships to the region in a bid to counter narco-terrorists in South America.

U.S. missile cruiser USS Lake Erie at the Panama Canal, crossing from the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 29, 2025. / Social Media

The move is also in part meant to increase pressure on the socialist Maduro, whom the United States views as an illegitimate leader following two bogus elections, sources close to the administration told The Post.

“They are seeking a regime change through military threat,” Maduro told and his military officers on Sept. 1, 2025.

“Venezuela is confronting the biggest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years,” Maduro claimed. “A situation like this has never been seen.”

As many as 4,500 American service members – including three guided-missile destroyers and a nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine – were in the region or expected to arrive within the coming week, The Post reported on Thursday.

At least one spy plane is believed to be joining the operation.

In August, the Trump Administration placed a $50 million bounty on Maduro’s head — roughly twice the price of that placed on Osama bin Ladin before his death in 2011.

While saying that the naval buildup is targeted at South American drug traffickers, a Trump Administration official told Axios on Friday that “if Maduro winds up no longer in power, no one will be crying.”

While a ground invasion of Venezuela is not likely, the military contingent aboard the ships including roughly 2,200 Marines, leaving open the option, Axios reported.

Asked Thursday whether the U.S. was planning an invasion into Venezuela, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not rule out the option — stating she did not want to “get ahead of the president.”

“Many Caribbean nations and many nations in the region have applauded the administration’s counter drug operations and efforts,” Leavitt said. “And the president is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice.”

Maduro’s Cartel de los Soles has reportedly shipped hundreds of tons of cocaine and other illicit drugs to the United States since the early 2000s, raking in millions.

In July, the U.S. Justice Department listed the cartel as a specially designated global terrorist group, opening them up for military targeting.

PJ Media’s Sarah Anderson reported last week that Ecuador, Argentina, and Paraguay all joined the U.S. in declaring Cartel de los Soles a specially designated terrorist group.

“Guyana also praised these actions, and I’ve seen other U.S. officials state that other Caribbean leaders welcome this type of pressure on Venezuela,” Anderson wrote.

Meanwhile, while Maduro told the people of Venezuela that there is “no way” the U.S. can enter Venezuela. In a speech to Venezuela troops, a state-run media agency reported that he told them, “Today, we are stronger than yesterday. Today, we are more prepared to defend peace, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

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