One month after the announcement, the leaders of both countries took decisive steps. In September 2025, the Trump administration renamed the Department of Defense to the Department of War. The Department of War had previously existed between 1789 and 1947—a period when the United States expanded its territory and rose to superpower status following the two World Wars. This move reflects Trump’s apparent desire to restore American power through the doctrine of “peace through strength,” relying on military force to achieve objectives in international relations.
Earlier, on July 9, 2025, Secretary Pete Hegseth stated during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States would prioritize implementing this doctrine. At the Shangri-La Dialogue in May 2025, Hegseth made a similar statement regarding the Indo-Pacific region as part of safeguarding U.S. national interests.
In the declaration reviving the Department of War, Trump emphasized that “peace through strength” was the factor that allowed the United States to win any conflict worldwide and that restoring the Department of War would boost public morale and national pride in the government. Trump also cited the creation of the original Department of War under George Washington to oversee naval operations, signaling that the navy would play a crucial role in America’s future military deployments and foreign policy—especially under his leadership.
These developments came against the backdrop of a wave of global conflicts: Russia–Ukraine, India–Pakistan, Israel–Iran, and Thailand–Cambodia, along with potential flashpoints such as China–Taiwan and the Korean Peninsula. A common thread in these conflicts is the critical role of naval deployment. Venezuela, in this context, is seen as a testing ground for the U.S. Navy’s operational capabilities under the newly renamed Department of War.
In August 2025, President Donald Trump unexpectedly accused his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, of sponsoring drug trafficking groups. Trump also offered a $50 million reward for anyone who could capture the Venezuelan leader. The move was seen as a step toward legitimizing the Trump administration’s potential deployment of military forces.
The U.S.–Venezuela Conflict: Has It Officially Begun?
On September 1, 2025, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared that the country would face its most brutal war in the past 100 years. He also accused the Trump administration of violating international law and vowed to exercise legitimate self-defense at the highest level.
At the United Nations General Assembly, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto accused the United States of planning to escalate tensions with his country after several U.S. officials told NBC that Washington would strike drug trafficking groups in Venezuela with air raids—a move that violates territorial sovereignty under the U.N. Charter. Earlier, the Trump administration had already carried out attacks on vessels suspected of transporting drugs.
On September 5, 2025, the United States deployed 10 F-35 stealth fighter jets to Puerto Rico, its Caribbean territory located right next to Venezuela. On September 29, 2025, The New York Times reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and domestic policy adviser Stephen Miller were urging President Donald Trump to overthrow Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. According to Rubio, Maduro is an illegitimate president who protects drug trafficking networks into the United States, thereby destabilizing national security. The move was seen as a potential trigger for a war in South America.
For the United States, Venezuela is a country that must remain within Washington’s sphere of influence. This stems from the tradition of American isolationism during the nation’s founding period, aimed at preventing foreign—particularly European—interference in the Americas.
In the current context, Venezuela is under U.S. sanctions and isolation, most notably when Washington supported opposition leader and National Assembly President Juan Guaidó’s attempted coup in 2015, forcing Nicolás Maduro’s government to deepen cooperation with China and Russia. When a state in the Americas (Venezuela) aligns with external powers (China/Russia), the influence of those partners in the region inevitably expands.
Furthermore, Venezuela possesses one of the world’s largest proven oil reserves, with 303 billion barrels—exceeding Saudi Arabia’s 267 billion. Should Russia and China gain significant influence over Venezuela, the U.S. “petrodollar” system tied to Saudi Arabia could collapse.
Therefore, the possibility of a U.S.–Venezuela conflict is very real. The overarching goal of American leadership is to maintain the Americas in isolation from outside interference, primarily by excluding Russia and China.
The U.S.–Venezuela Conflict and… Beyond?
The unfolding U.S.–Venezuela conflict could escalate into a full-scale war. In today’s globalized world, such confrontations reflect a broader great-power rivalry. The series of wars breaking out across regions in 2025 are not mere coincidences but rather calculated moves by major powers.
For Washington, its strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities and now the possibility of action against Venezuela highlight a security-driven military strategy—sending a clear signal that the U.S. is ready to confront future conflicts anywhere in the world. This stance has also been evident in its policy shift: moving from tacitly tolerating Russia to actively supplying arms to Ukraine after failed negotiations.
In the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. is signaling both a willingness to cooperate for shared interests and a warning to states considering “choosing sides” in ways that could undermine American influence.
Most importantly, the U.S.–Venezuela standoff also serves as a message to China—the biggest and most direct challenge to the U.S. in the 21st century. At the same time, it raises alarms about the United Nations–led international order, which appears to be entering a period of decline.
