Trump Administration Negotiates Long-Term U.S. Troop Presence in Venezuela After January Assault
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 3
Trump Administration Negotiates Long-Term U.S. Troop Presence in Venezuela After January Assault
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 3
Summary
U.S. officials said the Trump administration is negotiating an agreement with Venezuela that could establish a long-term American military presence in the country.
Those talks follow a January nighttime assault in which U.S. troops killed scores of people and captured Nicolás Maduro, who is now imprisoned in New York.
The negotiations mark a sharp shift from hostility to potential military cooperation, with Venezuelan officials described as subservient to Trump after Maduro’s removal.
Trump on Monday called it “our conquest of Venezuela,” underscoring how the deal fits his administration’s increasingly militarized approach across Latin America.
That broader strategy already includes troop operations and joint actions with forces in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
What hidden regional blowback awaits as Washington transforms disaster relief and economic leverage into a permanent Latin American military network?
U.S. Military Intervention in Venezuela: The 2026 Maduro Raid, Oil-Funded Oversight, and the Battle for Sovereignty and Democracy
Overview
In January 2026, the U.S. launched Operation Absolute Resolve, beginning with a naval blockade that crippled Venezuela’s oil revenue and culminating in a dramatic raid that captured President Nicolás Maduro. The operation, ordered by President Trump without congressional approval, used cyberattacks to disable Caracas’s defenses before elite U.S. forces stormed Maduro’s residence, leading to his surrender and extradition to New York. The intervention caused significant casualties and infrastructure damage, triggered fierce legal and political debates in Washington, and set off a wave of regional and global reactions. In the aftermath, the U.S. supervised Venezuela’s oil revenues and endorsed interim President Delcy Rodríguez, while internal divisions and sovereignty concerns persisted.