How close is the US to war with Venezuela?
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 4 December 2025
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The US is ramping up military threats and rhetoric against Venezuela. With 15,000 US troops deployed in the Caribbean Sea, strikes on alleged drug boats, and more than 80 alleged traffickers killed, the escalating military presence in the region has Venezuelans on edge. What's really driving these two countries closer to war?
In this episode:
- Alejandro Velasco (@AleVelascoNYU), Associate Professor of Latin Studies, New York University
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Melanie Marich, Haleema Shah, Tracie Hunte, and Diana Ferrero with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Chloe K. Li, Fatima Shafiq, Farhan Rafid, Tamara Khandaker, and our guest host, Manuel Rapalo. It was edited by Kylene Kiang.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. This episode was mixed by Rick Rush. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today is a U.S. war in Venezuela imminent. |
| 0:15.6 | Nicholas Maduro told thousands of his supporters that U.S. deployments to the region have been testing his country. |
| 0:22.4 | What's really behind the U.S. military buildup off the coast of Venezuela? |
| 0:26.6 | And what are the consequences for the millions of Venezuelans living through this crisis? |
| 0:32.9 | I'm Manuel Rappalo, and this is The Take. |
| 0:44.1 | Hi, before we continue with today's show, |
| 0:47.8 | remember to leave us a comment telling us what you think about this episode and what stories you want us to do next. |
| 0:50.6 | Or on your podcast app, leave us a review telling us where you're listening from, |
| 0:55.1 | and give us a five-star rating while you're there. It helps the show. |
| 1:03.6 | My name is Alejandro Velasco, and I am associate professor of history at New York University. |
| 1:10.5 | Alejandro, welcome to the take. The U.S. is intensifying pressure against Venezuela |
| 1:16.2 | in the Caribbean, both in rhetoric and in military presence. For three months, the U.S. |
| 1:22.2 | military has carried out deadly strikes in the Caribbean Sea, targeting alleged drug trafficking vessels and killing |
| 1:29.0 | more than 80 people. In a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump had this to say. |
| 1:35.9 | I want those boats taken out. And if we have to, we'll attack on land also, just like we attack |
| 1:40.7 | the sea. Why does it look like the U.S. is on the verge of going to war with Venezuela? |
| 1:47.5 | Well, there's lots of reasons. Some of them are more ideological. Some of them are more domestic |
| 1:53.1 | in nature. What's interesting about this moment is that they're not new in terms of why the |
| 1:58.9 | United States is at heightened tensions with Venezuela. But because |
| 2:02.5 | they are conflating interests that are really manifesting at this moment, it feels all the more |
| 2:08.7 | fraught. In fact, it's the most significant U.S. presence in the Caribbean militarily outside of |
... |
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