Tensions between the United States and its Latin American neighbors, Venezuela and Colombia, have reached a boiling point in September 2025, with military actions, diplomatic rebukes, and accusations flying across borders. In a span of just a few days, the Trump administration has taken unprecedented steps—destroying vessels at sea and conditionally decertifying Colombia as a partner in the fight against drugs—while leaders in Caracas and Bogotá brace for what many see as a dangerous new phase in regional relations.
The latest escalation began two weeks ago, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. military had destroyed a boat carrying 11 people. Trump claimed the boat was transporting drugs, but a subsequent report from Venezuela stated that the vessel actually carried fishers, not traffickers. The incident set off alarms in Caracas, but it was only the beginning.
On September 15, Washington reported the destruction of a second boat, this time resulting in the deaths of three people. Trump, addressing reporters at the White House, declared, "Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the US… BE WARNED — IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU!"
Hours later, Trump escalated his rhetoric further, telling journalists that three boats had been destroyed in total and sending a direct message to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro: "Well, I would say this: immediately stop sending the Tren de Aragua to the United States. Stop sending drugs to the United States." The Tren de Aragua is a notorious Venezuelan criminal organization, and Trump's accusation was clear—he was holding the Maduro government responsible for the flow of drugs northward.
Venezuela, for its part, has denied any links to drug trafficking and condemned the U.S. attacks as provocations and violations of human rights. Caracas argues that Washington’s recent military moves are less about drugs and more about destabilizing the government. According to the Venezuelan government, these attacks are a thinly veiled attempt to pave the way for a broader intervention.
International analysts have not held back in their criticism. Tiziano Breda, speaking to DW, noted, "This shows that the first attack was not an isolated case, but that there is an attempt to standardize this practice as a new method of combating drug trafficking… [Furthermore, these actions] tend to increase the nervousness in Miraflores [the Venezuelan presidential palace] regarding the possibility that these attacks are only the prelude to a broader intervention, the effects of which are difficult to predict." Mary Ellen O’Connell, a respected legal scholar, added that such attacks "violate fundamental principles of international law." She argued that executing alleged drug traffickers in international waters without trial is not only illegal but also violates the Declaration of Human Rights.
Queen’s University professor Luke Moffet told the BBC, "Force can be used to stop a vessel, but generally non-lethal measures should be employed… [Such actions must be] reasonable and justified as necessary in self-defense, when there is an imminent threat of serious injury or loss of life." The implication is clear: the U.S. response was excessive and possibly unlawful.
The condemnation has not been limited to analysts or legal experts. Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a frequent critic of U.S. policy, was quick to denounce the attacks. On September 18, Petro stated, "Killing three passengers on an unarmed and unarmored boat with a missile is murder. The US government is killing Latin Americans on their own land because it is territorial waters. It has no right to do so. If there are Latin Americans here who grant the US the right to kill Latin Americans, they are nothing more than lackeys."
While the Trump administration maintains that its actions are justified—"these extremely violent drug cartels pose a threat to U.S. national security, foreign policy, and vital interests," Trump insisted—the region is left on edge, with many fearing that a wider conflict could erupt.
Venezuela, anticipating the possibility of further U.S. intervention, has accelerated its military preparations. On September 13, President Maduro launched the "Plan el Pueblo va a los Cuarteles" ("The People Go to the Barracks Plan"), a campaign designed to unify militia and professional combat forces in coordinated exercises. "We are in the training and cohesion stage, after the call-up stage, which was completed and continues to be completed through the Homeland System registration platform… All of the country’s potential will become national power if the imperialists decide to attack us," declared Venezuelan Minister of Defense Padrino López. The message is unmistakable: Venezuela is bracing for the worst.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has also taken aim at Colombia, its longtime ally in the drug war. On September 16, the U.S. Department of State conditionally decertified Colombia for failing to meet anti-drug commitments over the past year, placing it in the same category as Venezuela, Bolivia, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. Trump blamed Colombian political leadership, specifically President Gustavo Petro, for failing drug control obligations and criticized Petro's approach to narcotrafficking.
Petro, responding the next day at Bogotá’s CATAM airbase, called the U.S. decision an "injustice" and "a deep insult to a society that has spilled the most blood so that the United States and Europe consume less cocaine, and obviously an insult to my own life." He defended his government’s record, claiming, "We have eradicated 25,000 hectares under my government… With voluntary eradication, farmers are no longer planting more coca as they did under Duque, nor are mafias incentivized to expand." He also insisted that his administration had seized unprecedented quantities of cocaine and had extradited 400 out of 403 requested individuals to the U.S., with three cases pending peace agreements.
Petro rejected the notion that he was shielding criminals, stating that suspensions of extradition would only apply if individuals made verifiable commitments to abandon violence and trafficking. He framed this as consistent with Colombian law and his administration’s "total peace" agenda.
In a bold challenge, Petro addressed Trump directly: "Here I await you, if you wish. Do not threaten nations." He went further, criticizing U.S. anti-drug policy as a "50-year failure," and pointed to America’s own overdose crisis: "You have 3,000 deaths from cocaine overdoses and 100,000 from fentanyl. That shows your policy failed." Petro also alleged that "extreme right-wing" groups in Miami, allied with Trump’s Republican base, have ties to Colombian narcotraffickers, warning, "Be very careful."
The U.S. decision to decertify Colombia sent shockwaves through financial markets, with Colombian dollar bonds falling and analysts warning that the move could cost Colombia up to $1 billion a year in lost investment and tourism if travel warnings are heightened. Still, the White House stopped short of cutting off aid, signaling a desire to avoid a full rupture, at least for now.
As the region stands at a crossroads, the stakes could not be higher. With military maneuvers, diplomatic standoffs, and economic uncertainty, the next moves by Washington, Caracas, and Bogotá will shape not only their own futures, but potentially the stability of the entire hemisphere.