BarcelonaThe operation by the United States against Venezuela to capture Nicolás Maduro is the culmination of months of growing tensions due to Washington’s military pressure on Caracas. The Pentagon has used more than 150 aircraft in the operation, ordered by President Donald Trump at 10:46 p.m. in Washington, as detailed by the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine.
At two in the morning, Caracas time, several explosions were recorded in the Venezuelan capital, where American military planes were also heard flying over the city for hours. The Venezuelan government has confirmed attacks in various parts of Caracas and also in three nearby states: Miranda, La Guaira and Aragua. Bombings have been reported at the Fuerte Tiuna military base, the main one in the capital, and also at two other military installations in the city: the Cuartel de la Montaña and the La Carlota air base.
Previous attacks on alleged drug boats
Tensions between Washington and Caracas soared when the United States launched a campaign of airstrikes against alleged narco boats from Venezuela. The first bombing was on September 2, in which 11 people died. Since then, the Pentagon has carried out at least 35 attacks in Caribbean and Pacific waters, killing at least 115 people, according to the New York Times. All under the pretext of the fight against drug trafficking, but without having provided any evidence and without the consent of Congress.
Military deployment
The United States has strengthened the military forces deployed in the Caribbean area in recent months. In August, Trump secretly signed a directive to the Pentagon to begin using military force against Latin American drug cartels that his administration had deemed terrorist organizations.
Since October, U.S. forces have included a Navy expeditionary strike group of amphibious warfare ships that carry thousands of marinesalong with warplanes, attack helicopters and other aircraft. In mid-November they sent the aircraft carrier Gerald Fordthe largest and most modern of the US fleet, in the Southern Command area of responsibility. Last month the Southern Command detailed that there were around 15,000 soldiers deployed in the region.
He New York Times published on December 23 that in the previous week several C-17 heavy cargo planes, used mainly to transport troops and military equipment, had made at least 16 flights to Puerto Rico from US military bases. The Wall Street Journal reported that same day that “a large number” of special operations aircraft, troops and military equipment had also been deployed to the Caribbean in the previous days.
Reserves petrolieres
Behind the operation is Trump’s intention to control the Venezuelan oil industry. In his press conference, he assured that the big American oil companies “will settle in Venezuela” to repair the crude oil infrastructure, “in a very bad state”. Venezuela treasures the largest oil reserve in the world: it concentrates about 303,000 million barrels of crude oil, close to a fifth of the global reserves. More oil than Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United States and any other country. However, the country only produces about one million barrels per day, about 0.8% of global production.
In other words, the business potential is huge, compared to actual production today, which is less than half of what it was producing before Maduro took power in 2013. International sanctions and the deep economic crisis, accompanied by a lack of investment and maintenance, have contributed to the deterioration of the hydrocarbon industry, which Trump wants to seize.
