The discourse surrounding the current conflict is riddled with inconsistencies and contradictions, leading even established media outlets to scrutinize the narrative.
As the Trump administration moved U.S. naval forces closer to the Caribbean and engaged in questionable military actions against unidentified vessels, we closely monitored mainstream reporting in the United States and other Western media. Our observations indicate that, unlike previous military interventions, the escalation of tensions with Venezuela has, at best, received only tepid support from legacy press outlets.
This isn’t to say that some media aren’t attempting to push a pro-war agenda; the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal has notably been a prominent player in this regard. However, many other outlets, including the New York Times and CBS, have openly challenged the glaring inconsistencies in the Trump administration’s justification for military action, which hinges on combating drug trafficking.
The glaring contradictions in the narrative are so evident that even mainstream media are calling them into question. Take this recent observation:
Remarkable. Tulsi Gabbard stated on October 31, 2025, that Trump was breaking the cycle of “regime change” and “nation-building.” Yet, a full-scale regime change operation is ongoing in Venezuela, and Trump has explicitly imposed “nation-building” efforts in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Wg9syNw4Nr
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) December 1, 2025
Chilling Parallels to Libya
Recently, Trump announced an escalation aimed at Latin America’s drug cartels by implementing a complete closure of Venezuelan airspace. This move resonates eerily with the no-fly zone enforced on Libya shortly before NATO’s military actions there. And it appears to be unfolding as intended:
Not a single plane can now fly over Venezuela, a nation of 30 million with the largest oil reserves globally. The airspace is closed by a U.S. President sitting 2,000 miles away. International law has become a mere illusion. The world is operated like a mafia, with Washington as the kingpin. pic.twitter.com/MQ8UNOWNop
— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) December 1, 2025
Despite this, not all air traffic has ceased. According to Spain’s El Diario, flights from Colombia, Panama, and Russia were still arriving just days later. Colombian President Gustavo Petro remarked that while Washington can limit its own airlines, other nations should restore normal aviation links with Venezuela, emphasizing the importance of dialogue.
Coincidentally, less than 24 hours before announcing the closure of Venezuelan airspace, Trump touted on social media that he was granting a full pardon to Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, who was convicted of drug trafficking charges in the U.S. and sentenced to 45 years in prison. This juxtaposition of pardoning a convicted drug trafficker while escalating military threats against Venezuela raises serious questions about consistency in policy.
As Tyler Pager reported for the Times, Trump’s posts embody a deep contradiction in strategy:
“His posts reveal an extraordinary dissonance as he intensifies a military campaign against drug trafficking while simultaneously releasing a man associated with ‘cocaine-fueled bribes’ from cartels, who used state power to protect drug operations.” In fact, prosecutors maintained that Hernández facilitated drug transportation from Venezuela through Honduras to the U.S.
Selective Justice
The rationale behind Trump’s decision to pardon Hernández remains unclear as no evidence has been presented to support claims of a corrupt trial. As pointed out by the Gray Zone’s Wyatt Reed:
“Trump has not clarified how the then-president of Honduras could have been ignorant of the extensive cocaine trafficking conspiracy, which involved his own brother — Tony Hernández.”
Hernández is not the only U.S.-aligned leader with questionable ties to drug trafficking. For instance, Ecuador’s Miami-born President Daniel Noboa has faced allegations connected to cocaine transport. Similarly, implications of campaign funding from known traffickers have plagued Argentina’s government. In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele’s dealings with MS-13 have raised eyebrows without major U.S. concern.
Trump’s proposed presidential pardon for Hernández underscores the inconsistent application of the U.S. drug war. As Judge Andrew Napolitano highlighted, “the evidence against Hernández was overwhelming,” yet the Trump administration appears to be targeting individuals lacking public evidence of guilt (i.e., the victims of naval strikes) while facilitating the release of convicted narco figures.
This proposed pardon illustrates that the escalating U.S. war against drug cartels is less about addressing drug trafficking and more about regional domination, a sentiment echoed by Jorge Retana Yarto, former director of Mexico’s Centre for National Intelligence:
The U.S. “war” on drugs is largely a fabrication, ideologically driven for geopolitical dominance. While drug trafficking and related violence exist, the narrative serves to justify military interventions, damaging social and political structures in Latin America.
A Shift in Strategy for the Western Hemisphere
Under the current administration, geopolitical maneuvers focus on governments that resist U.S. influence. John Mearsheimer, an international relations professor, observes that the U.S. does not tolerate left-leaning governments. When faced with any such regime, the U.S. acts to unseat it.
As previously noted, there seems to be an intention to merge two failing campaigns in Latin America: the war on drugs and the war on terror. Max Blumenthal framed it as an application of the “Clean Break” strategy, initially designed for the Middle East, in the Western Hemisphere.
Former officials pushing for regime change in Venezuela are now targeting all leftist governments in Latin America. The drug narrative serves merely as a façade for control, much like the WMD pretext used in previous conflicts. pic.twitter.com/RGd7PK9aLg
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) November 20, 2025
As the war in Ukraine faces dwindling resources, Trump’s escalating conflict against narco-terrorism has presented new opportunities for the military-industrial complex (MIC). The Wall Street Journal notes that as the U.S. military pivots its focus, the defense industry stands ready to supply advanced tools for this evolving conflict:
Companies specializing in defense technology and artificial intelligence have discovered a lucrative niche in Trump’s advancing drug war. Innovations originally intended for potential conflicts with China are being adapted for operations against drug trafficking, with drones and AI systems assisting the U.S. Coast Guard in their efforts in the Caribbean.
If the claim that drug cartels present an imminent threat to national security holds true, why would Trump advocate for pardoning a convicted narco-president?
Notably, Trump’s pardon announcement coincided with Honduras’ presidential elections, in which he openly endorsed a candidate aligned with Hernández’s party, while disparaging left-wing rivals. Such interventions raise concerns about electoral integrity
Despite claims of a decisive victory against socialism, the official electoral results from Honduras remain unreported two days post-election, evoking memories of alleged fraud in Venezuela. As tensions mount around Venezuela, armed conflict seems increasingly probable.
With 20,000 U.S. troops stationed in the vicinity, and Venezuela being labeled both a cartel and terrorist state, military intervention appears inevitable. Strikingly, public sentiment in the U.S. shows significant resistance to military action, particularly in light of Trump’s plans to pardon a notorious figure in the region.
Against a backdrop of economic challenges and declining public support for Trump, the forthcoming decisions may come to define the contours of his second term in office.
* This observation could also apply to Marco Rubio, who has faced scrutiny over his family’s alleged drug trafficking connections:
Marco Rubio has yet to clarify his family’s links to drug trafficking. His brother-in-law was involved with a major South Florida drug trafficker, raising unsettling questions. pic.twitter.com/iPB858X2PX
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) November 15, 2025
