Tropic Thunder: Understanding US Interventionism in the Caribbean

Welcome to Tropic Thunder, a five-part short series by Levant Time designed to help you understand the different reasons behind the current U.S. interventionism in the Caribbean.

This series was completed 48 hours before the American attack on Venezuela.

EPISODE 1 — Operation Southern Spear

Over the past few months, the Caribbean Sea has once again become an area of heightened geopolitical tension. On August 14, the United States ordered a massive military deployment to the southern Caribbean, mobilizing U.S. Navy units, Marines, and air power, in what some analysts describe as the largest concentration of U.S. forces in Latin America in decades.

Since November 13, the U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, has officially launched the ongoing operation, known as Operation Southern Lance.

By the end of December, as many as 15,000 personnel are deployed as part of this operation. Among the assets involved is a carrier strike group centered around the USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, as well as a nuclear-powered submarine. One additional detail: the USS Ford had previously been deployed in the eastern Mediterranean due to the various conflicts in the Levant since 2023.

Officially, U.S. President Donald Trump claims that this mobilization serves a clear priority: fighting drug cartels and organizations labeled as “narco-terrorists” operating in the Western Hemisphere. From Caracas, however, President Nicolás Maduro denounces what he describes as an attempt at regime change—an accusation Washington denies.

Thus, while the fight against drug trafficking remains the stated justification, the buildup of naval, air, and ground forces near Venezuela’s coastline raises questions about Washington’s true strategic objectives, amid growing pressure on the government of Nicolás Maduro, which the United States considers an illegitimate regime.

One final important point: the anti-drug offensive declared by Donald Trump claims to target cocaine trafficking routes. Yet while cocaine consumption is increasing in countries of the so-called Global North, in the United States it is primarily the opioid crisis—particularly the extremely potent fentanyl—that lies at the heart of an unprecedented public health emergency. This crisis caused tens of thousands of deaths last year alone. Fentanyl, a synthetic drug, is not produced in the Caribbean; it mainly originates in China.