In it escalating campaign against Venezuela, the Trump administration has gone from shooting drug boats to trying to seize oil tankers in the Caribbean.

Anatoly Kurmanaev, a foreign correspondent for The New York Times who has spent years covering Venezuela, explains why President Trump is shifting his strategy, and what that might tell us about his true endgame.

Guest: Anatoly Kurmanaev, a reporter for The New York Times covering Russia and its transformation following the invasion of Ukraine.

Background reading: Venezuela’s oil exports have plummeted after the United States took action against three tankers carrying crude.

Photo: Satellite image ©2025 Vantor, via Associated Press

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