America is flexing its muscles in the Caribbean and the world is holding its breath. Washington has trained its sights on Socialist-run Venezuela, and the arrival of the colossal USS Gerald Ford has sparked the biggest military buildup since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Operation Southern Spear is now under way: a dozen warships, thousands of troops, and a barrage of so-called “anti-narco” strikes that have already left scores dead. The White House insists it’s about drug traffickers, but few believe that. With President Nicolás Maduro about to be officially labelled a terrorist and Trump accusing him of heading a major cartel, the scent of regime change is hard to ignore. Maduro says America is inventing a war. So what’s really happening? Venetia is joined by former British Royal Navy officer Tom Sharpe and RUSI Senior Research Fellow Carlos Solar.

Three possible scenarios: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/11/13/donald-trump-venezuela-nicolas-maduro-options/

Tom Sharpe on his time fighting drug smugglers in the Caribbean: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09/08/ive-gone-up-against-drug-smugglers-in-the-caribbean/

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

https://linktr.ee/BattleLines

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

[email protected] 

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.