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Washington put a $50 million bounty on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s head.

The US military’s strike on a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela does little to dispel speculation over President Donald Trump’s true goal in the region.

Officially, the deployment of the US Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Caribbean is about narcotics interdiction.

But unlike Coast Guard cutters and speedboats that usually chase — rather than blow up — smugglers, these ships are built to strike targets on land.

Coming weeks after Washington put a $50 million bounty on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s head, some see it as a setup for a snatch-and-grab, or worse.

It’s also awakened some long dormant interventionist fantasies.

For many Venezuelans, the deployment revives memories of a botched 2020 coup attempt, when a group led by an American ex-Green Beret tried and failed to land on Venezuela’s shores, leaving several dead.

  • Basic Glitch@sh.itjust.worksOP
    7·
    14 days ago

    Just asking bc this doesn’t seem clear to me.

    Maduro is leaning into the drama. Having accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday of wanting to “stain his hands with blood,” he responded defiantly yesterday after Trump said 11 “terrorists” were killed, without mentioning retaliation.

    There’s been no direct comment from Maduro since Monday right…?

    Also it’s been such a crazy few years, I completely forgot all about this shit:

    botched 2020 coup attempt, when a group led by an American ex-Green Beret

    Apparently this happened in January: An ex-Green Beret behind a failed Venezuela raid in 2020 lashes out at CIA and FBI

    A former Green Beret accused of plotting an invasion of Venezuela in 2020 to try to overthrow Nicolás Maduro lashed out Friday at the CIA and FBI, claiming they sabotaged his efforts to oust the leftist leader. His lawyers asserted that he had the Trump administration’s support for the clandestine mission.

    “I want to congratulate the CIA and FBI on a job well done. Because of your efforts in Venezuela in 2020 to sabotage my executive-branch directed operation Nicolas Maduro is getting sworn in today,” Goudreau, flashing a thumb-up sign, said in a short video on Instagram. “Good job, fellas!”

    Guaidó’s Miami-based aides broke off all communications with Goudreau several months before the raid, saying they believe he was mentally unstable and had no support from the U.S. government for the covert operation.

    Operation Gideon: