High noon in the Caribbean Maduro allegedly asks China and Russia for military assistance

The US has been attacking drug boats in the Caribbean for weeks. Venezuela fears there could soon be a US attack on land. Find out what Donald Trump has to say about this and how Caracas is preparing for it here.

"Are we going to go to war with Venezuela?" CBS journalist Norah O'Donnell asks the US president. "I doubt it. I don't think so," Donald Trump replied on November 2.

"But they've treated us very badly. Not just with drugs: they've brought hundreds of thousands of people into our country that we didn't want. People from prisons - they emptied their prisons into our country," the New Yorker said indignantly.

Is US policy in the Caribbean now focused on the fight against drugs or is it about toppling Nicolás Maduro? "It's about many things," Trump evades. Are the days of Venezuela's president numbered? "I would say yes. I think so."

That was last seen in 1983

But couldn't it be that the US military is attacking targets inside Venezuela? "I'm not telling you that. I'm not saying whether it's true or untrue. Because I don't talk to a reporter about whether I'm attacking." So the 79-year-old is keeping all options open.

In particular, the relocation of the USS Gerald R. Ford is fueling speculation about a US attack. "The Ford is 50 or 100 percent more powerful than the Nimitz aircraft carriers, which have been the backbone of American power for the last 50 years," explains Peter Zeihan, an expert in geopolitics.

"You don't send an aircraft carrier anywhere in the Western Hemisphere unless you have to do something really important," explains the 52-year-old. "The last time an American aircraft carrier took part in a mission in the Western Hemisphere was in 1983." That was during the US invasion of Grenada.

Overkill in the Caribbean

And even then it was a bit too much military power. And if it was just about intimidating Maduro? "I would argue that there are much better [means] for that," says Zeihan, recalling that the US intelligence agency CIA was given the green light by the White House for covert operations in Venezuela.

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In addition, the USS Iwo Jima landing ship is also in the region. "You can knock out a South American government in a weekend with that." Whether this is a good idea and whether Congress has to approve it are other questions, but they will not be asked because Trump has such a firm grip on the Republicans.

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However, Caracas is also receiving support - from Moscow: "We strongly condemn the use of excessive military force in carrying out anti-drug operations," the Foreign Ministry announced on November 1. "Such actions violate both US domestic legislation and the norms of international law."

Caracas asks Moscow and Beijing for help

Maduro can be sure of the "firm support" of Russia, the statement continues. The Kremlin has apparently been on a confrontational course with Washington since the bilateral talks with Donald Trump broke off. "Hypothetically speaking, a meeting is possible, but there is no need for it at the moment," said Dmitry Peskov.

The Kremlin spokesman told the Russian state news agency Tass on November 2: "We need to work very carefully on the details of the solution [to the war]." If the Washington Post is to be believed, Caracas would like even closer cooperation with Vladimir Putin: Maduro has reportedly asked Moscow for military assistance.

According to this, he has not only sent Putin a letter to this effect, but also China's President Xi Jinping, in order to counter the "escalation between the USA and Venezuela". There is also support from Iran to secure a delivery of drones.

Venezuela would like Russia to export air defense systems, maintain Su.30MK2 fighter jets and provide unspecified "logistical support". However, it is unclear how the Kremlin has answered the request, according to the Washington Post.