There are only a few days left until the presidential elections in the United States, where Donald Trump continues to fight to return to the White House. In the event of his reelection, relations between the United States and Venezuela could deteriorate even further.
Trump is known for being one of Nicolás Maduro's main rivals, whom he has called a dictator. During his first term, Trump tried to overthrow Maduro's government by allocating resources to key U.S. security forces. If he returns to the White House, Trump would seek to destabilize Maduro's government again.
In recent days, U.S. government officials confirmed that Trump tried for months to overthrow Maduro with the goal of ousting the socialist government of Venezuela and seizing its gold and oil reserves.
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela escalated in 2018, when Trump exposed the crisis situation in Venezuela before the UN, while Maduro accused the United States of ongoing aggression.
In an attempt to overthrow Maduro, the CIA was instrumental, but many planned operations failed. From attempts to hack into Venezuelan government networks to promoting a supposed "democratization" through propaganda, no strategy achieved the desired impact.
Support for Juan Guaidó, who proclaimed himself interim president of Venezuela, was also attempted, but Trump eventually expressed his disappointment upon realizing that Guaidó lacked the leadership to bring about regime change.
Despite these attempts and internal disputes, Trump continued with direct sanctions against Venezuela, especially against the oil sector. Various sabotage operations were thwarted by refusals from the CIA and the Pentagon, complicating attempts at overthrow.
The "Operation Freedom" led by Guaidó in 2019 also failed to mobilize the Army and Justice against Maduro. Lack of communication and agreements prevented the plan from succeeding, despite ongoing destabilization efforts.
If Trump returns to the presidency, it is likely that he will seek to affect Maduro's government once again. The clashes between the CIA and the Trump Administration revealed internal conflicts that hindered past overthrow attempts.
