Vows "very soon" land/air strikes if Venezuela cedes Orinoco/Essequibo oil fields to Guyana; ties to Exxon investments and Maduro's disputed 2024 win.
USS Gerald R. Ford deploys with Marines, sanctions freeze $3B assets; Maduro mobilizes 150K troops with Russian/Iranian aid.
Lula/Petro seek mediation; Putin pledges support, China urges calm; risks $100B war, refugee crisis, oil surge to $82/barrel.
President Donald Trump issued a stark ultimatum to Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro regime on Monday, warning of "very soon" US military action, including ground strikes, if Caracas refuses to relinquish control over disputed oil-rich territories in the Orinoco Belt, heightening alarms of a US led invasion that could destabilize Latin America.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump declared, "If Maduro doesn't hand over those fields to the people and our partners in Guyana, we'll take them, boots on the ground, strikes from the air, whatever it takes. Very soon. We're not playing games with American energy security."
The remarks, delivered alongside Energy Secretary Doug Burgum and flanked by maps highlighting the 100,000-square-kilometer Essequibo region, claimed by Venezuela but administered by Guyana—came days after US sanctions froze $3 billion in Venezuelan assets, citing "humanitarian crises" and election fraud in Maduro's July 2024 victory.
The threat marks a sharp escalation in the simmering border dispute, reignited by Venezuela's December 2023 referendum endorsing Essequibo annexation, which Trump labeled a "socialist land grab" threatening ExxonMobil's $55 billion Stabroek Block investments in Guyana.
US Southern Command confirmed the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to the Caribbean, with 5,000 Marines positioned in Guyana for "joint exercises," while the Pentagon hinted at cyber operations to disrupt PDVSA oil exports. Analysts warn a full invasion could mirror Iraq 2003, costing $100 billion and risking alliances with Brazil and Colombia, both of which have urged mediation through the Organization of American States.
Maduro, in a fiery Caracas retort, branded Trump a "fascist cowboy" and mobilized 150,000 troops along the border, vowing "asymmetric warfare" with Russian-supplied S-400 systems and Iranian drones. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil accused the US of "imperialist aggression" to seize 5.5 million barrels per day of reserves, the world's largest. Russia, a key Maduro backer, echoed the defiance, with Putin offering "unlimited support" during a call with Trump, while China, Venezuela's top creditor, called for "restraint" to protect $60 billion in loans.
