Cuba has accused the United States of moving toward a violent attempt to remove Venezuela’s leadership and warned that an expanding US military presence in the Caribbean is an exaggerated and destabilising threat to the region. In a Tuesday statement, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez appealed to the American people to halt what he called ‘madness’ and warned the US government could trigger an incalculable number of deaths and unprecedented instability, actions he said would violate international law and the UN charter.
The denunciation comes as the Trump administration weighs further pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, with the White House not ruling out more forceful options. US officials have repeatedly accused Maduro of directing a campaign to smuggle drugs into the United States, though the administration has not publicly produced evidence to substantiate those allegations.
Over the past two months US forces have struck 21 boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, operations that are reported to have killed at least 83 people. US officials said the vessels were linked to drug trafficking, but authorities have not released proof that narcotics were aboard, and legal experts say the strikes could violate international law even if drugs were found. Meanwhile the US military presence in the region has grown to its largest level in decades, with roughly 15,000 personnel stationed across the Caribbean.
President Trump has said he is not seeking to topple the Venezuelan government, but reporting has raised concern about the possibility of US intervention. Reuters, citing US officials, reported Washington was preparing a new phase of operations related to Venezuela and that some options under discussion included attempts to remove Maduro. Last month the president authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, and the US continues to offer a roughly $50 million reward tied to Maduro—a figure that has risen since Trump’s first term. Maduro, who has governed Venezuela since 2013, insists Washington aims to oust him and vows the military and the Venezuelan people would resist any such effort.
Tensions also climbed after the US formally designated the so-called Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organisation. The phrase typically refers to alleged high-level corruption within Venezuelan institutions rather than a single organised criminal group.
Amid the rising tensions, senior US military leaders have been on a diplomatic tour of the Caribbean. Dan Caine, identified in reports as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Trinidad and Tobago to meet Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar; offices said the talks reaffirmed bilateral ties and addressed regional challenges including illicit narcotics and transnational crime. Caine began the trip with a stop in Puerto Rico, where he met US troops. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was scheduled to continue engagements in Santo Domingo to meet President Luis Abinader and Defence Minister Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre. The Pentagon framed the visits as efforts to strengthen defence relationships and underline US commitment to homeland defence.
Most Caribbean leaders have urged restraint and dialogue in response to the US strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels. Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, however, has openly backed the attacks; in September she said she had no sympathy for drug traffickers and declared that ‘the US military should kill them all violently,’ remarks that prompted criticism across the region and at home. Former Trinidad foreign minister Amery Browne described the prime minister’s stance as reckless and said it had distanced Trinidad and Tobago from CARICOM positions.
Cuba’s statement framed the broader pattern of US actions—strikes at sea, increased troop deployments, covert authorisations and tough rhetoric—as an escalating and dangerous approach that could provoke wider violence and violate norms of international conduct. The dispute adds to mounting regional concern about how far the US will go in addressing its accusations against Venezuela and how Caribbean governments will respond to pressure from Washington.