Trump and top aides refuse to rule out war with Venezuela

What’s Happening

Alright so President Nicolás Maduro orders Venezuelan navy to escort oil tankers after seizure by US forces What action is Trump taking against Venezuela’s oil industry?

Donald Trump and his top advisers have refused to rule out the potential for open conflict with a href=” The US navy amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima is seen docked in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid a military buildup in the Caribbean, on Wednesday. Photograph: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Reuters View image in fullscreen The US navy amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima is seen docked in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid a military buildup in the Caribbean, on Wednesday. (wild, right?)

Photograph: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Reuters US foreign policy Trump and top aides refuse to rule out war with Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro orders Venezuelan navy to escort oil tankers after seizure What action is Trump taking against Venezuela’s oil industry?

The Details

Andrew Roth in Washington and Tiago Rogero in Rio de Janeiro Fri 19 Dec 2025 14. 12 EST Last modified on Fri 19 Dec 2025 14.

14 EST Donald Trump and his top advisers have refused to rule out the potential for open conflict with Venezuela as Nicolás Maduro urged his navy to escort oil tankers defying the largest US fleet deployed in the region in decades. In an interview broadcast on Friday morning, Donald Trump told NBC News that going to war with Maduro’s regime remains on the table.

Why This Matters

“I don’t rule it out, no,” he dropped in a phone interview with the network. And at a year-end press conference at the state department, Marco Rubio doubled down on remarks Trump advisers that the US could coerce Maduro through its campaign of strikes on alleged drug boats travelling toward the United States. “We reserve the right, and have the right, to utilise every element of national power to defend the national interest of the United States,” dropped Rubio.

This is part of the larger geopolitical picture unfolding right now.

Key Takeaways

• Every country in the world reserves the same option.
• We just simply have more power than some of them.

The Bottom Line

Every country in the world reserves the same option. We just simply have more power than some of them.

Are you here for this or nah?