The Trump administration has moved eight Navy warships to Venezuela’s coast and launched deadly strikes against suspected cartel boats — sparking hope among Venezuelan exiles that this White House will finally deliver more than ‘lip service’ against Nicolas Maduro’s repressive regime.
But there’s a critical divide on whether the military operations will actually bring down Maduro or amount to expensive theater from Trump’s rebranded Department of War looking to flex its muscle.
‘I think that the ships and submarines are kind of a bit performative,’ said Carlos, a 22-year-old, who fled the country in 2017 and now lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
Some military experts claim the U.S. Navy deployment in the Caribbean ‘is entirely a matter of political signaling,’ while others note that the focus is on drug cartel movement and not an intention to take out the Maduro regime overall.
But others see real potential: Manhattan Institute’s Daniel Di Martino believes the U.S. ‘has the military assets to neutralize the Venezuelan military and allow the Venezuelan people to take over.’
The U.S. escalation reached a dramatic peak on September 2 when the U.S. killed 11 alleged traffickers in a speedboat strike, with Venezuela responding by sending F-16 jets buzzing over the USS Jason Dunham two days later.
The Pentagon warned Maduro against interfering with anti-narco operations.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited Puerto Rico Monday for military exercises, as the island’s Senate approved a resolution supporting Trump’s fight against Maduro’s ‘narcoregime.’
Venezuelan-Americans are skeptical that President Donald Trump’s aggressive action in the Caribbean will resulted in want they want: The topping of Nicolas Maduro’s (pictured) ‘narcoregime’
Trump shared drone images of a U.S. Military strike that killed 11 on a drug cartel speedboat in the Caribbean on September 2, 2025
Senate President Rivera Schatz told the Daily Mail: ‘Puerto Rico’s location gives the United States a decisive strategic position in the Caribbean to confront Maduro.’
‘It is also the message I have carried to the Capitol in meetings with members of Congress: Puerto Rico stands ready to support the U.S. military in this fight.’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised more lethal action: ‘What will stop them is when you blow them up, when you get rid of them.’ Similar strikes will ‘happen again,’ he said.
Still, Venezuelans who fled the country for a better life in the U.S. detail to the Daily Mail that they are ‘optimistic’ but ‘skeptical’ the warship build-up and recent actions in the Caribbean will lead to lasting change.
Carlos, who requested his last name be withheld due to concerns about retaliation from the regime, thinks the military hardware off the coastline are ‘a bit performative.’
‘Definitely it’s a huge step,’ he admitted, but added: ‘blowing up ships and putting out rewards for information – that’s all good and all, but it doesn’t usually lead to anything … It seems like a problem without a solution.’
Cesar, who was born in Venezuela and fled to the U.S. in 1999 and again in 2009, told the Daily Mail: ‘There’s a skepticism.’
‘But people just want a solution,’ the 27-year-old added. ‘So, blowing up the boat – that was a step.’
‘People want a new chapter, and we’ve tried everything right?’ Cesar said when asked about perceptions among Venezuelans of Trump’s administration taking more aggressive actions against Maduro.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (center) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine (left) visited Puerto Rico this month amid a military presence build-up in the Caribbean
Thousands of Marines and sailors conducted military exercises in Puerto Rico September 4-10, 2025 as the Trump administration works to combat narco terrorism in the region
Secretary Hegseth said the strike was the beginning of a broader U.S. military campaign against drug cartels, but since the first action this month there have not been any known direct actions.
‘We’ve got assets in the air, assets in the water, assets on ships,’ he said of the movement of presence to the Caribbean.
This week, military forces in U.S. territory of Puerto Rico conducted amphibious training exercises focused on enhancing readiness of Marines and sailors amid heightening tensions with Venezuela over drug trafficking impacts on Americans.
The posturing in Puerto Rico adds to the enhanced aggression by the Trump administration against Venezuela, Maduro and his so-called narco-regime.
Di Martino called the boat strike ‘a great move’ and ‘a different type of economic blockade’ — reasoning that cutting off narco-trafficking profits directly harms the regime.
But the aggressive assault has him clamoring for more.
‘I hope that they do whatever it takes to overthrow the Maduro regime,’ Di Martino told the Daily Mail. ‘Killing Maduro. Kidnapping him. I think that Maduro – and Chavez before him – has destroyed Venezuela.’
Even he acknowledges, however, that ‘there’s not going to be an invasion – I think this is an exaggeration.’
