As the United States threatens to attack Venezuela, some Caribbean allies are offering support. The United States has been amassing military forces and assets in the region since August. It has killed more than 80 people in strikes on boats it alleges are carrying drugs to the United States.

President Donald Trump said in a brief Nov. 29 social media post that airspace around the South American country should be considered closed.

The Trump administration has accused Maduro of heading the Cartel of the Suns, which it has now added to its terrorist designations list, describing is as a centrally coordinated criminal operation that supports Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel as well as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, both of which the US has also designated as terrorist groups.

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro rallied his supporters on Tuesday during a march in the country’s capital, Caracas.

WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The United States is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, four U.S. officials told Reuters, as the Trump administration escalates pressure on President Nicolas Maduro's government.

The U.S. has designated the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, a move expected to escalate military involvement

Here is a timeline of the deteriorating relations between Venezuela and the US since Trump started his second term in January 2025 – and how Washington’s approach towards the South American nation since the late 1990s has led to this moment.

The U.S. declared an alleged cartel in Venezuela a terrorist organization, the latest action targeting the country and the Maduro government.