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Under Trump’s orders, the US aircraft carrier has gathered and continued to advance at full speed toward Venezuela overnight, does this mean that the war is signaling?
According to Xinhua news agency on October 25, local time, on October 24, Trump signed a presidential decree, the United States' most advanced "Ford" aircraft carrier strike group from the Mediterranean Sea to the surrounding waters of Latin America deployment, this move attracted international attention.
U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Sean Parnell said that the main purpose of this military operation is to strengthen the ability of the U.S. military to combat drug traffickers, weaken transnational criminal organizations, and ensure the security of the United States and "the stability of the situation in the western hemisphere". But it is clear to the outside world that this is just an excuse for the Trump administration to target Venezuela.
According to Reuters, the "Ford" crossed the Strait of Gibraltar earlier this month. If it pulls back from the Mediterranean Sea at this time, it will take about 11 days to reach the Caribbean Sea at full speed.
As one of the most advanced aircraft carriers in active service in the United States, the configuration of the USS Ford is luxurious. At full capacity, it has more than 5000 shipborne soldiers. The deck and aircraft carrier hangar can accommodate 75 military aircraft, including the F-35C Lightning stealth fighter, the F/A-18 Hornet fighter, the E-2D early warning aircraft, as well as electronic warfare systems and missile libraries. In addition, there are two Ticonderoga-class missile cruisers, six Arleigh Burke class destroyers, two Virginia-class attack nuclear submarines, etc., which are the pinnacle of global naval power.
Before the USS Ford aircraft carrier arrived, the US military had deployed eight warships, one nuclear submarine, dozens of F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters, and MQ-9 Reaper drones in the Caribbean waters. According to the latest US media reports, two B-1B "Lancer" strategic bombers also approached the waters near Venezuela on the 24th, which are important signals of escalating the situation.
Since late August, the Trump administration has carried out more than a dozen airstrikes on so-called "drug smuggling ships" in the Southern Caribbean waters on the basis of "combating transnational drug crime", killing at least 40 people.
Given the growing military threat from the United States, the Venezuelan government also made a compromise, just last week, Qatar sources revealed that Venezuela had submitted two “surrender” plans to Trump, hoping to resolve the dispute through decent negotiations.
According to people familiar with the matter, Venezuela came up with its first plan in April, which included Maduro's voluntary resignation and the United States 'withdrawal of charges and rewards against him. In exchange, Venezuela would cooperate with the United States in the energy field.
Such a crisp "surrender" was mainly because Trump was too powerful and Maduro could not withstand the pressure. Only three months after returning to the White House, Trump has almost "fought all over the world," such as acquiring Greenland, turning Canada into the "51st state" of the United States, turning the Gulf of Mexico into the "Gulf of the United States," and China's game at the Panama Canal port, intervening in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, launching "reciprocal tariffs" against the world, and launching a Sino-US tariff war.
Although Maduro is a staunch "anti-American fighter", Venezuela is a small country after all. In order not to be subverted, he can only choose to compromise.
However, Trump refused to accept the “surrender” plan, but instead intensified, not only by citing Maduro’s payout from $25 million to $50 million, but also by launching a more radical military operation.
The second plan was in September, when the Venezuelan government revised some conditions: Maduro would still step down and go into exile in Middle Eastern countries, allowing Torres, a retired general in exile in Spain, to return to China as the new president, and allowing the opposition to participate in politics, suggesting that further concessions in energy cooperation could be made.
However, the Trump administration still rejected the proposal. What hawkish politicians led by U.S. Secretary of State Rubio did not want to "bleed" in Venezuela, but to completely subvert the Venezuelan regime and support pro-American factions to come to power, just like Afghanistan back then.
Under such circumstances, Maduro obviously won’t give a third “surrender” scheme again, while Trump logically labeled Venezuela as a “drug crime hotbed” and chose to use a powerful military invasion to gain “American interests”.
Ten days later, the "Ford" aircraft carrier strike group will arrive in the waters around Venezuela. Before the invasion war is completely started, Trump may tear the camouflage and announce the real conditions of the United States to Venezuela. If Venezuela chooses to refuse, it depends on how likely external forces are to intervene. After all, Trump needs a "great" achievement too much to fill the gap of his "resume" that has made no achievements in power for nearly a year. Let's wait for the situation to develop.