LOS ANGELES (OC).–Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that he’s entered into a strategic partnership with Venezuela serving notice that he won’t sit idly by while President Donald Trump bombs Venezuelan boats in the Gulf of Mexico. Trump has ordered the Pentagon recently to attack speed boats in the Gulf of Mexico. Part of OPEC, Venezuela has been partnering with Russia for a long time but hasn’t taken a strategic stand defending Venezuela from military attacks. Trump claims the Venezuelan President Nicloas Maduro is directly involved supporting transnational narco-trafficking gangs from transporting illicit drugs into the United States. Trump has a very literal understanding of the drug war actually deploying the U.S. military to go after narco-trafficking gangs. Putin put Trump on notice that he shouldn’t attack a close ally of the Russian Federation.
Putin told TASS state news agency that the new partnership with Venezuela would be far reaching, letting Washington know to stop bullying his ally. “The agreement takes Russian-Venezuelan relations to a fundamentally new level and covers all important areas of bilateral cooperation,” ahead of Venezuelan President Nicloas Madura’s visit to Moscwo. Trump has put Caracas on notice that if Maduro doesn’t do something about narco-trafficking, he’s going to be subjected to potential regime change. White House rhetoric on Venezuela has grown increasingly belligerent in recent weeks, with the Pentagon hitting suspected drug-trafficking boats 11-times in the last two months. Without saying he’s entering into a military partnership, Putin has served notice that Venezuela is a close ally. Moscow could very easily send its navy to protect the South American communist state.
Trump’s war on drugs has crossed a new line when it comes using the U.S. military to attack boats on the open seas, something never done before. Legal experts think Trump doesn’t have international law behind him and would lost any legal action in The Hague’s International Court of Justice. Trump officials have a $50 million bounty on Maduro something out of the ordinary for a head-of-state. Trump doesn’t have have legal basis for attacking ships on the open seas unless they’re directly involved in military action against the U.S. Taking the war on drugs literally, Trump thinks attacking vessels in the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific stop the major source of drug trafficking. But Trump doesn’t really know all the potential ways dugs flood into the Untied States. When it comes to Venezuela, they do not manufacture Fentynal or cocaine in Columbia and Equador.
Trump’s been after Maduro started since first term when he backed pro-democracy advocate Edmundo Gonzalez claims a legitimate right to the presidency, completely ignored by the Maduro government. Nobel Prize winner Corina Machado threw her backing to Gonazales, despite Maduro’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy elements. It’s no accident that Putin announces a strategic partnership with Maduro, hoping to get Trump to back down on recent movement of U.S. naval forces into the region. Based on Trump’s overall military instincts, he’s not likely to put boots on the ground in Venezuela. Trump has bigger fish to fry in Ukraine where the war persists despite his best efforts with Putin to bring it to an end. Getting involved militarily in Venezuela would destabilize South America and spread the U.S. military too thin when it’s focused on Ukraine and the Mideast.
Putin’s recent frustrations with Trump over Ukraine resulted in his new strategic partnership with Maduro. It’s no accident that Maduro plans to vist Putin soon to get a pledge if nothing else of moral support to counter Trump’s aggressive policy in the war on drugs. Sending the U.S. navy and air force into the Gulf of Mexico, Trump hopes to tell Maduro he’s on thin ice unless he cracks down on what the White House calls narco-terrorism, a designation to militarize the war on drugs. Trump promised during his 2024 campaign to crack down on the drug cartels responsible for illicit drugs flooding into the U.S. Trump isn’t likely to start a war with Venezuela, only let the Corina Machado opposition know they have a friend in the United States. Putin’s announcement today was designed to get Trump to back off his aggressive approach for regime change in Caracas.
Whatever Trump’s show of force in the Gulf, he isn’t likely to take it any further, knowing what must be done in Ukraine and Mideast. Putin’s attempt to meddle in U.S. Western Hemisphere politics shows that Maduro is running scared, looking for any ally. Putin would not send his navy or air assets to Caracas to get into a military altercation with theRussian President Vladimir Putin said today that he’s entered into a strategic partnership with Venezuela serving notice that he won’t sit idly by while President Donald Trump bombs Venezuelan boats in the Gulf of Mexico. Trump has ordered the Pentagon recently to attack speed boats in the Gulf of Mexico. Part of OPEC, Venezuela has been partnering with Russia for a long time but hasn’t taken a strategic stand defending Venezuela from military attacks. Trump claims the Venezuelan President Nicloas Maduro is directly involved supporting transnational narco-trafficking gangs from transporting illicit drugs into the United States. Trump has a very literal understanding of the drug war actually deploying the U.S. military to go after narco-trafficking gangs. Putin put Trump on notice that he shouldn’t attack a close ally of the Russian Federation.
Putin told TASS state news agency that the new partnership with Venezuela would be far reaching, letting Washington know to stop bullying his ally. “The agreement takes Russian-Venezuelan relations to a fundamentally new level and covers all important areas of bilateral cooperation,” ahead of Venezuelan President Nicloas Madura’s visit to Moscwo. Trump has put Caracas on notice that if Maduro doesn’t do something about narco-trafficking, he’s going to be subjected to potential regime change. White House rhetoric on Venezuela has grown increasingly belligerent in recent weeks, with the Pentagon hitting suspected drug-trafficking boats 11-times in the last two months. Without saying he’s entering into a military partnership, Putin has served notice that Venezuela is a close ally. Moscow could very easily send its navy to protect the South American communist state.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s edior of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma. U.S. military. Putin has enough trouble dealing with Ukraine with the EU giving Ukraine the long-range missiles to do considerable damage to Russian energy infrastructure. Trump would like Putin to come around to make peace in Ukraine. Bu the Russian leader wants a more methodical approach to peacemaking. When it comes to Venezueal, Putin can do nothing more that show Maduro moral support. Whatever Trump’s build-up in the gulf, he won’t take it a step further into regime change.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s edior of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
