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The US appears to be increasing its provocations towards Venezuela. Satellite images verified by Sky News show a US warship, about 200 kilometres off the coast of Venezuela, conducting military exercises with live ammunition.
According to defense expert and former US colonel Mark Cancian, the presence of this ship could be interpreted by Nicolas Maduro's regime as a scare tactic, due to the authoritarian nature of his government and long-standing tensions with Washington.
The move comes as the US has significantly increased its military presence in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific, deploying warships, aircraft and thousands of troops. US officials claim the operation is targeting drug trafficking networks, but international analysts are warning that it could be preparation for limited strikes against Venezuelan military targets, without congressional approval.
President Maduro responded on Friday, accusing the US of "inventing a false narrative to justify an attack and regime change."
Meanwhile, on October 24, US President Donald Trump declared that "drug trafficking by sea has decreased to 5% of last year's level, so now it is passing by land, but that too will be closed soon."
Although he later denied plans for attacks inside Venezuela, his contradictory statements have raised more doubts about Washington's real intentions.
On the social networks Truth Social and X, Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that 61 people have been killed in attacks on ships since the campaign began on September 2.
The latest footage released by the US Southern Command on October 30 shows US Navy soldiers conducting live-fire training from aboard the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship, which forms an essential part of the US expeditionary forces and is designed for immediate military landings.
Satellite images clearly show the position of the USS Iwo Jima, less than 200 km from the Venezuelan coast, a distance that in military terms is considered "operational readiness."
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