Growing Concern on U.S.-Venezuela Tensions
TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 27 Oct 2025
René Wadlow – TRANSCEND Media Service
22 Oct 2025 – On 15 Oct, the Foreign Ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement issued a statement of solidarity with Venezuela at their meeting in Uganda, the current chair of the Non-Aligned Movement. Voices of alarm, especially that of the Venezuelan External Relations Minister Yvan Gil, have also been heard at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly currently in session in New York.
Tensions between the United States (U.S.) administration led by Donald Trump and the Venezuelan government led by Nicolas Maduro have been growing. U.S. war ships have moved closer to the coast of Venezuela where they have sunk small speed boats suspected of transporting drugs. More than 27 people on these small speed boats have been killed despite growing questions over the legality of striking these boats under international law. Under the international rules that govern armed conflict, you cannot target civilians unless they are actually engaged in hostilities against you.
In addition to the conflict on the Caribbean, President Trump publicly stated that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been authorized to carry out covert operations within Venezuela. As the CIA operates within many countries without public authorization, the publicity concerning CIA efforts within Venezuela increases the tensions. The awarding of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Ms. Maria Corina Machado, a 58-year-old Venezuelan opposition leader living in Venezuela but in hiding, has drawn wide public attention to Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government which was already a repressive regime as concerns human rights, on September 30, 2025 proclaimed what in practice is a “state of emergency” for the first time, giving the government very broad powers to act. There is increasing discussion on whether the U.S. government is planning for regime change in Venezuela.
The Association of World Citizens believes that urgent peacebuilding measures must be undertaken to reduce tensions between the two countries so that peaceful relations are restored. There can be Track Two, informal discussions organized by Nongovernmental Organizations to see on what issues there can be useful negotiations. There may be possibilities for mediation on the part of Latin American governments so that peaceful and stable socio-economic structures can be developed.
Time for positive action is now, before greater tensions develop.
______________________________________
René Wadlow is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment. He is President of the Association of World Citizens, an international peace organization with consultative status with ECOSOC, the United Nations organ facilitating international cooperation and problem-solving in economic and social issues, and editor of Transnational Perspectives.
Tags: Anglo America, Bullying, Hegemony, Imperialism, Latin America Caribbean, Non-Aligned Movement NAM, Nonalignment, Oil, Regime Change, South America, State Terrorism, USA, Uganda, Venezuela, Violent conflict
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 27 Oct 2025.
Anticopyright: Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: Growing Concern on U.S.-Venezuela Tensions, is included. Thank you.
If you enjoyed this article, please donate to TMS to join the growing list of TMS Supporters.
This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.
Join the discussion!
We welcome debate and dissent, but personal — ad hominem — attacks (on authors, other users or any individual), abuse and defamatory language will not be tolerated. Nor will we tolerate attempts to deliberately disrupt discussions. We aim to maintain an inviting space to focus on intelligent interactions and debates.