Venezuela: Can US Pressure Break Maduro’s Grip?

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The Trump administration has taken unprecedented measures to increase the pressure on Venezuela’s repressive Maduro regime, which illegitimately maintained power despite losing the July 2024 election. The United States has doubled the bounty on Nicolás Maduro’s capture to $50 million, designated two Venezuelan criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations, and deployed naval assets to the southern Caribbean to disrupt drug trafficking operations. Most recently, the US stationed 10 F-35 fighter jets and other assets in Puerto Rico.

Washington’s escalation is a response to the continued threat the criminal regime poses. Maduro’s Venezuela has emerged as Latin America’s greatest destabilizing force, serving as a major sanctuary for transnational criminal organizations, a critical node in international drug trafficking networks, and a strategic foothold for Russian and Chinese influence projection.

What does America’s show of force mean for its broader strategy toward Venezuela? Could sustained US pressure fundamentally alter the political dynamics within the regime? Can outside pressure sufficiently weaken Maduro’s grip on power? Join Adjunct Fellow Daniel Batlle and a panel of experts as they examine these questions.