Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro declared Monday that his country's relationship with the United States is "completely broken," accusing Washington of waging military and political aggression.
Speaking after a series of tense maritime incidents in the Caribbean, Maduro said communications with the U.S. government had been reduced to almost nothing. "They have destroyed what little dialogue existed with threats of bombs, death and blackmail," the president said, insisting that the United States is preparing for regime change under the cover of anti-drug operations.
Maduro also framed Venezuela's response in terms of sovereignty and self-defense. "Venezuela "exercises the legitimate right to defense against what it describes as 'U.S. aggression," he declared, reinforcing his narrative that Washington is escalating a campaign of intimidation.
Deportation Flights Continue Despite Breakdown
Despite the collapse in political ties, deportation and repatriation flights carrying Venezuelan migrants from U.S. soil are still moving forward. Earlier this year, Washington resumed flights after securing a deal with Caracas, even amid disputes over Chevron's oil license and fresh sanctions.
Sen. Marco Rubio, now Secretary of State, has warned Venezuela of consequences if it fails to accept the deportees. "If the Maduro regime refuses to accept its citizens, they will face severe and escalating sanctions," Rubio said in March, underscoring the Trump administration's tough line on migration enforcement.
Military Escalation in the Caribbean
The dispute intensified after a U.S. strike in early September sank a Venezuelan boat off the southern Caribbean, killing 11 people. The Pentagon said the vessel was a drug-smuggling craft; Venezuela disputes that characterization and labeled the attack an act of aggression.
Rubio later confirmed the strike, describing it as a direct order from the president. "The U.S. military conducted a lethal strike against a drug vessel that departed from Venezuela," he said. "We will do it again if necessary."
Asked about the possibility of further military action, Donald Trump kept his answer deliberately vague. "We'll see what happens," he told Fox News. He accused Venezuela of exporting crime: "They're sending us their gang members, their drug dealers and drugs. It's not acceptable."
Trump, Rubio and Longstanding Accusations
Tensions between Caracas and Washington have deepened since the COVID-19 pandemic, when Trump first escalated rhetoric against Maduro, labeling him a narco-dictator and placing a multimillion-dollar bounty on his capture. Earlier this year, the Trump administration doubled the bounty, citing drug-trafficking allegations.
Rubio, one of Maduro's fiercest critics, has linked the deportation flights directly to Venezuela's international standing. Alongside his threats of sanctions, he celebrated the release of Americans once held in Venezuela. "Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland," he said during a prisoner swap that coincided with deportations of Venezuelans to El Salvador.
Caracas, for its part, frequently accuses both men of plotting regime change through economic strangulation and military intimidation. Maduro has framed Rubio's threats and Trump's rhetoric as proof of a U.S.-led campaign to destabilize Venezuela.
Analysts note that although limited contact remains over migration enforcement, political, diplomatic, and military channels are effectively frozen. The U.S. State Department has denied some of Caracas' accusations, insisting that naval operations target organized crime, not the Venezuelan state.
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