If you'll recall, back in early September, after the president ordered the U.S. military to begin striking Venezuelan drug boats in the Caribbean, the country's illegitimate narco-terrorist leader, Nicolás Maduro, got scared and wrote a letter to "Respected President Donald Trump." In it, he told a bunch of lies and half-truths about his peaceful regime that is totally not a cartel and that is actually fighting the war on drugs. He also begged for continued diplomacy talks through Special Envoy Richard Grenell.
On Monday evening, the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump "called off diplomatic outreach to Venezuela" and stated that "The move paves the way for a possible military escalation against drug traffickers or the government of Nicolás Maduro."
Side note: I have no idea what the Trump administration has planned — Marco Rubio doesn't call me with scoops... yet — but I don't think we're headed toward an all-out boots-on-the-ground war with Venezuela. However, the MSM and Democrats are throwing around big phrases like "military escalation" and "regime change" and "nation building" in an effort to fearmonger and, of course, to remind us all that anything Trump does is bad, even taking out terrorists, going after a wanted U.S. fugitive, and attempting to stabilize our region by ensuring the Venezuelan people can live peacefully under their rightfully elected leaders.
The House Foreign Affairs Dems have already started:
Democrats ❤️ dictators https://t.co/MUeAF9lRyt
— SarahDownSouth (@SarahDownSouth) October 7, 2025
As several people responded, this isn't exactly "regime change." I was not familiar with Estrella Infante until today, but she is spot on here, and I now follow her on X:
The difference is that Trump isn’t seeking another endless war; he’s ending an era of impunity.
— Estrella Infante (@estrellainfant) October 7, 2025
Venezuela isn’t just “another country,” it’s a narco-dictatorship allied with enemies of the United States and responsible for regional chaos and mass migration.
Venezuelans voted…
But back to the Times article. It says that Trump called Grenell last week and told him to stop talking to Maduro and that he is "frustrated with Mr. Maduro’s failure to accede to American demands to give up power voluntarily and the continued insistence by Venezuelan officials that they have no part in drug trafficking." It says that there are several potential military plans in place to oust Maduro, that Rubio is the one pushing them, and that he had "come to believe Mr. Grenell’s efforts were unhelpful and creating confusion."
Grenell was, according to the article, trying to negotiate a deal that would avoid conflict by allowing American oil companies access to Venezuela's oil. I feel like it's time to stop negotiating with terrorists who are intent on harming us, but y'all know I'm team "would like to see Maduro gone yesterday."
My guess is that at this moment, this is more an intimidation tactic than preparation for "military escalation." That's not to say that it's not a possibility in the future, but Donald Trump is not George Bush. He doesn't do forever wars.
Related: 10 Reasons the U.S. Can’t Afford to Ignore Venezuela Anymore
So we know how the Democrats felt about it. What about their buddy, Maduro? Well, he's pulling out all the stops, from begging the Pope to intervene to making up stories about the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.
During his weekly state TV propaganda show on Monday, Maduro told viewers that he reached out to Pope Leo XIV, asking him to help save Venezuela from the big bad United States. "I have great faith that Pope Leo, as I stated in the letter I sent him, will help Venezuela preserve and achieve peace and stability," he said.
If the Pope wants to help Venezuela, he'll give Trump his blessing to help get rid of this clown, so the people there can have food and medicine and get jobs that do not involve working for and paying off cartels and gang leaders.
During his broadcast, Maduro also created a little story about the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, which has been closed since 2019. Various media outlets suggest it only houses a few minor employees. According to Maduro, his security forces stopped a "false flag operation" by local right-wing (opposition) terrorists to plant bombs at the embassy.
For what it's worth, Maduro loves to make up little stories like this, especially when he feels threatened, and it's not the first time he's accused the opposition of such a plot, though few details and no evidence ever materialize. It's all part of his tired little dictator playbook, much like declaring it Christmas in October in hopes that his people won't realize they're starving and broke. My guess is that this is just his desperate response to Trump taking Grenell away from him.
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