Claim: Tensions growing between United States and Venezuela

Question

So far, US military action against Venezuela has been strikes against boats that the White House claims are carrying narcotics to America. 69 people have been killed on these boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in the past few weeks.

The US has now moved significant military hardware into the Caribbean. Although Venezuela does not play a major role in trafficking drugs to the United States, the current president Maduro was accused of stealing the 2024 election. There is growing US pressure to persuade Maduro's inner circle to remove him from power from within the country to avoid military conflict outside of the country.

There are many moving pieces to the operations in the US and Venezuela due to each countries loyalties and dynamics with the leaders and their closest advisors, and the US does not want to be held accountable for a civil war breaking out in Venezuela.

Answer 1

After reviewing my sources I came to the conclusion that this statement is mostly true with some opinion mixed in towards the end as the US has not claimed that they dont want to be held accountable publicly. The TIME magazine that has been cited is a world renowned news source which is very credible, many people reference the TIME's work and its considered reputable throughout the journalism world. With this being said TIME is slightly left leaning and is not peer reviewed. In the article by Reuters they had confirmed that 69 people have indeed been killed by the U.S. and says there has been a calls saying there should be an investigation. Reuters is a reputable and credible international news source in which is neutral  so there isnt bias within the reports. The article states, "The U.S. has reported carrying out 14 strikes since September on vessels near the Venezuelan coast and, more recently, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least 69 people, according to the U.S. defense secretary, as it escalates a military buildup in the Caribbean Sea"(Reuters). This confirms the claim from TIMES about the number of deaths near the Venezuelan coast. The claims from TIME magazine are sourced from numerous sources such as a press conference of Donald Trump on Nov.2 on "60 Minutes", The Guardian and more of Donald Trumps quotes. Within terms of the U.S. pressuring Venezuela to remove Marduro out of power that is indeed true and the Hudson Institute states, "The United States has doubled the bounty on Nicolás Maduro’s capture to $50 million, designated two Venezuelan criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations, and deployed naval assets to the southern Caribbean to disrupt drug trafficking operations. Most recently, the US stationed 10 F-35 fighter jets and other assets in Puerto Rico"(Hudson Institute). All in all the U.S. is currently tip toeing around a fragile situation regarding Valenzuela and is trying to avoid a civil war, but would like to have military presence out in that region.  

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/how-many-us-strikes-boats-near-venezuela-have-there-been-2025-10-17/?utm_source=chatgpt.com