Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has been a ruthless dictator from the day he inherited the throne in 2013 after the death of his mentor, Hugo Chávez—another iron-fisted ruler wrapped in the comforting shawl of “socialism” for the world’s die-hard leftists.
So if US Navy vessels now circle Venezuela’s coastline under the banner of “stopping the drug flood into America,” with an unmistakable hint of regime change, I find it hard to shed a tear for Maduro. Tyrants rarely inspire sympathy.
A US invasion is no longer an abstract rumour; it’s a real possibility. Washington has been tightening the screws on Maduro with remarkable persistence.
According to The Washington Post, the Trump administration has raised the bounty on Maduro’s head to an astonishing $50 million—a global “Wanted” poster on steroids. The White House even plans to drop leaflets over Caracas to publicize the reward, a tactic straight out of Cold War theatre.
This isn’t the first time the US has dangled millions for Maduro. Back in 2020, the State Department offered $15 million for information leading to his arrest on narcoterrorism charges. The Biden administration bumped it up to $25 million in early 2025, and now Trump has doubled it again.
Meanwhile, ordinary Venezuelans have their own battles to fight—and remarkably, a potential US invasion isn’t one of them. As the BBC reports, what keeps them awake at night are the soaring food prices, empty shelves, and the daily struggle to secure life’s basics. When survival becomes a full-time job, geopolitical posturing fades into background noise.
Whether an American intervention would solve Venezuela’s crisis is debatable. But one thing is clear: for millions crushed under Maduro’s misrule, the idea of dramatic change—whatever triggers it—doesn’t sound like the worst headline.
Promod Puri.com 