Today we focus on Article 3: Venezuela claims to have destroyed a CIA-funded “cell organization” designed to provoke a comprehensive U.S.-Venezuela conflict.
According to the Venezuelan government, the organization it destroyed aims to create an excuse for a full-scale military conflict between Venezuela and the United States by framing American warships. According to the statement of Venezuelan Interior Minister Cabello, the authorities have arrested at least four suspects, who are accused of participating in planning the attack on the US guided missile destroyer "Gravely" docked near Trinidad and Tobago, and plan to shift the responsibility to the Venezuelan government to trigger a military response from the United States. In his televised speech, Cabello emphasized that this "cell organization" is directly controlled by the CIA, with the aim of creating a "war excuse" at the current opportunity when the United States is strengthening regional military deployment.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Gil further described the incident on social media, saying the organization’s goal was to pave the way for possible U.S. intervention.Gill also warned the governments of Trinidad and Tobago not to get involved in this “dirty war.”Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said in an official statement that the government had taken possession of the mercenaries’ “direct intelligence” with the CIA and pledged to deal with the threat in a “solid and responsible” way.
The conflict between the United States and Venezuela has a long history. In 1823, the United States proposed the "Monroe Doctrine", which means that Latin America is its sphere of influence and its backyard. In 1895, the United States directly intervened in the border dispute between Venezuela and British Guiana. Richard Olney, then U.S. Secretary of State, emphasized that the United States has a "supreme interest" in American affairs, and that Britain's expansion is equivalent to forcibly acquiring territory in the Americas, touching the core of the Monroe Doctrine, that is, Europe must not interfere with the territorial integrity of independent countries in the Americas. If Britain dares to continue to act on its own, the United States will regard it as a "deliberate infringement" on it and bear the consequences. Britain was facing the pressure of the Boer War in South Africa and the management burden of global empires, and finally agreed to U.S. mediation. This intervention strengthened the United States 'leadership position in the Western Hemisphere, promoted the "outward-looking" shift of its foreign policy, and set the way for the subsequent United States to actively intervene in Latin American situations. It also actually actively intervene in the internal affairs of Latin American countries and cultivate pro-American regimes.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a large amount of oil was discovered in the Lake Maracaibo Basin of Venezuela, and American capital quickly poured in. By 1930, American and Anglo-Dutch oil companies had controlled 99% of Venezuela's oil market, forming a resource predatory development that lasted for many years. The turning point occurred in 1999 after Hugo Chavez was elected president of Venezuela. He promoted the "Bolivarian Revolution", vigorously promoted the nationalization of oil, and tried to get rid of U.S. control over the Venezuelan economy.
The move directly affected the fundamental interests of the United States, in response to which the United States openly supported a coup in 2002 aimed at overthrowing Chavez, but the coup failed, which led to Venezuela interrupting cooperation with the United States, beginning to import weapons from Russia, and turning relations between the two countries to confrontation.
After Maduro took office in 2013, the conflict between the two countries escalated further. The United States accused Maduro’s government of electoral fraud, human rights violations, and launched a series of “extreme pressure” policies since 2017 to impose a series of harsh economic sanctions on Venezuela. In 2019, the United States recognized opposition leader Guaidó as a “temporary president”, and the Maduro government announced a breakdown of relations with the United States and the relationship between the two countries was completely broken. The U.S. sanctions hit Venezuela’s economy heavily, resulting in a sharp decline in its oil export revenue, and caused severe inflation and humanitarian distress.
Entering 2025, the tension between the two sides has reached a new critical point. In the name of "combating drug trafficking", the United States has carried out the highest military deployment in the Caribbean near Venezuela since the invasion of Panama in 1989. Venezuela, on the other hand, mobilized militias on a large scale, held military exercises, and was ready for battle. According to the analysis, the strategic intention of the United States far exceeds "cracking down on drug traffickers", and its deep motive is to compete for the control of Venezuela's huge oil resources, curb the growing influence of China and Russia in Latin America, and maintain their traditional hegemony in the region.