Warships, the CIA and potential ‘precision attacks’ – the US-Venezuela crisis explained

Published

3 weeks ago

December 3, 2025

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For months, Donald Trump has intensified military presence in the Caribbean.

From US warships in the region, American troops having the green light for covert operations, and deadly strikes on what the Trump administration claims are “narco-terrorists” – here is all you need to know about the crisis.

Why have tensions increased?

Tensions first started to escalate in September when President Donald Trump accused Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro – who he does not recognise as the country’s leader – of heading up the notorious organised crime gang Tren de Aragua (without providing evidence).

It followed US strikes on a boat that Mr Trump claimed was being used by the gang to carry drugs. Eleven people died in the strike, which is believed to have been the first US military operation in the southern Caribbean to crack down on drug cartels.

Since early September, US strikes have killed more than 80 people in 21 attacks on small boats accused of transporting narcotics, with Mr Trump maintaining cartels were a threat to US “national security, foreign policy, and vital US interests”.

The US president also alleged Venezuela had sent a significant number of prisoners, including individuals from mental health facilities, into the US, and confirmed he had approved CIA operations in the country to tackle alleged drug trafficking.

The US government has released no evidence to support its assertions that those killed in the boats were “narco-terrorists”.

In return, Venezuela’s president, Mr Maduro, accused Mr Trump of seeking regime change and of “fabricating a new eternal war” against his country. He denies having any links to the illegal drug trade.

He also claimed the US strikes targeting boats are illegal, amount to murder, and are acts of aggression.

In a message to American citizens on 16 October, he said in English: “Not war, yes peace. The people of the US, please.”

What are US warships doing?

In November, the docking of the USS Gravely guided missile destroyer in the capital of Trinidad and Tobago – just 25 miles from the coast of Venezuela – escalated tensions.

Venezuela’s government condemned the arrival and called it a provocation by Trinidad and Tobago and the US.

The USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier – the largest warship in the world – travelled to the Caribbean in what was interpreted by many at the time as a show of military power.

Other warships, F-35 aircraft, a new influx of troops and weaponry also arrived in the area, as part of the mission dubbed Operation Southern Spear.

Rear Admiral Paul Lanzilotta, who commands the strike group, said at the time, the mission will bolster an already large force of American warships to “protect our nation’s security and prosperity against narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere”.

After the arrival of the Ford, some experts remarked that it was ill-suited to fighting cartels, but could be an effective instrument of intimidation to push Mr Maduro to step down.

What about airspace?

Days after the arrival of the USS Gerald R Ford, the US government’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over Venezuela.

The warning led to three international airlines cancelling flights departing from Venezuela and, later, Mr Maduro revoked operating rights for six major airlines.

In further escalation, Mr Trump said on 30 November that the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.

He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”

The move was labelled a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression,” by Venezuela’s foreign affairs office, which accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.

Are Trump’s claims true?

Mr Trump said his reasons for the strikes on vessels were the migration of Venezuelans, allegedly including former prisoners, to the US – and drug trafficking.

But Venezuelan officials have claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.

The US leader has not provided evidence for the claim about prisoners, and Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay pointed out that the fentanyl drug that is causing destruction in America is largely manufactured in Mexico, not Venezuela.

Ramsay reports that the fentanyl is smuggled directly into the US across its southern border. Venezuela is instead largely a transit country rather than a drug producer – supplying illegal drugs, especially cocaine, which come from countries like Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.

“President Trump claims these boats from Venezuela are heading to the US, but in reality they are mainly heading to the nearby islands of Trinidad and Tobago, and from there they largely go to West Africa and Europe – mostly Spain and Portugal,” Ramsay says.

“Drugs heading to America either pass through Mexico over the border into the US or are transported via the Pacific Ocean route through countries like Ecuador. In this instance, Venezuela isn’t involved.”

Will the US actually attack Venezuela?

Mr Trump has said in the past that land operations against alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon” – which would be a major escalation of Operation Southern Spear.

To get an idea of what could happen next, Sky News spoke to Dr Carlos Solar, an expert on Latin American security at the RUSI defence thinktank.

He says the level of military strategy the US is applying around Venezuela seems “unproportionate” for the task of tackling drug trafficking.

“A build-up this size can only suggest there’s a strategic military goal,” he added.

Dr Solar says the role of the CIA is “not surprising”, as the US often deploys spying capabilities in countries deemed adversarial.

“With the chances of a military conflict looming, having the most intelligence capable on the ground would be reasonable.”

Asked what could happen next, Dr Solar told Sky News: “One scenario is Trump authorises a round of long-range precision attacks in Venezuela’s territory linked to drug trafficking operations, eventually forcing Maduro to reciprocate later.

“We saw this early in the year when the US attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities and Tehran returned missiles to US bases in Qatar.

“If the US decides to move more strongly, destroying all critical military targets from the Venezuelan forces, then the US could have Maduro surrender and leave the country immediately.

“This would be the least disruptive without causing greater destabilisation of the country.”

Who is Venezuela’s leader?

Mr Maduro has been in power since 2013, including re-elections in contests marred by accusations of fraud.

He is currently serving his third term after being declared the winner of last year’s presidential election, despite evidence that the opposition defeated him by a two-to-one margin.

Over the last decade, his country has been gripped by spiralling hyperinflation and a humanitarian crisis that has seen an estimated eight million Venezuelans flee the country.

Mr Maduro has also been indicted in American courts on federal charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine, with the US government offering a reward of $50m for his arrest.

Responding to the allegations that he controls the crime group Tren de Aragua, Mr Maduro has repeatedly said the group is no longer active in their country after they dismantled it during a prison raid in 2023.

Tren de Aragua, which traces its roots to a Venezuelan prison, is not known for having a big role in global drug trafficking but instead for its involvement in contract killings, extortion, and people smuggling.

US

The links between Jeffrey Epstein and the UK revealed in new files

Published

8 hours ago

December 20, 2025

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The links between Jeffrey Epstein and the UK revealed in new files

Jeffrey Epstein led two different lives – sex offender and celebrity networker – and he did that in the UK as well as the US.

The newly released Epstein documents reveal, in particular, how the paedophile financier ascended into the highest levels of British society.

This photo of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sprawled across the lap of several women, whose identities have been protected, speaks to his close relationship with Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who was jailed for child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with Epstein. But the furnishings are even more revealing.

Epstein files – latest updates

Sky News matched the fireplace in this photo with the one in Sandringham, the estate where the royals tend to spend Christmas – (Andrew is not invited this year).

Andrew has vigorously denied any accusations against him.

Also included in the latest release are Epstein’s flight records. They provide some useful corroborating evidence.

On 9 March 2001, his plane landed at “EGGW” – Luton Airport – with JE, GM and VR on board – Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia Roberts, better known by her married name of Virginia Giuffre and perhaps Epstein’s most famous accuser.

The next day is when this photo was alleged to have been taken, in London, of Giuffre and Andrew.

Other photos show Maxwell on the steps of Downing Street – and power was as much a draw as celebrity.

On 15 May 2002, the flight records show Epstein again arriving at Luton.

The next day is when he met Tony Blair, prime minister at the time. This was before Epstein’s first arrest and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing.

The meeting was arranged by Peter Mandelson, who lost his job as ambassador to the US because of his Epstein connections, and who features prominently in the files.

The UK was a draw for Epstein’s wider circle too – Maxwell here is pictured touring the Churchill War Rooms with Bill Clinton and Kevin Spacey. Neither are accused of wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

And the other grim life that Epstein led, of sex trafficking, also had British links.

Another document released in the files, from 2019, shows witness testimony from Maxwell’s trial. In it, a victim is mentioned who is “17 years old” and who grew up “in England”. She would later be taken to Epstein’s private Caribbean island.

US

US launches ‘large scale’ strikes to ‘eliminate’ Islamic State fighters in Syria after US citizens killed in desert

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

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US launches 'large scale' strikes to 'eliminate' Islamic State fighters in Syria after US citizens killed in desert

The US has launched strikes to “eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites” in Syria, according to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

A U.S. official described it as “a large-scale” strike that hit 70 targets in areas across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons.

“This is not the beginning of a war – it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people,” he said in a social media post.

The announcement came after three US citizens – two National Guard members and a civilian interpreter – were killed in an attack in the Syrian desert on 13 December. Three US personnel were also wounded, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson said on X.

US President Donald Trump blamed the killings on Islamic State fighters.

“Because of ISIS’s vicious killing of brave American Patriots in Syria, whose beautiful souls I welcomed home to American soil earlier this week in a very dignified ceremony, I am hereby announcing that the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“We are striking very strongly against ISIS strongholds in Syria, a place soaked in blood which has many problems, but one that has a bright future if ISIS can be eradicated.”

He said the Syrian government was fully supportive of the US strikes against the Islamic State, warning that fighters “will be hit harder than you have ever been hit before”.

A US official told The Associated Press that the US strike on Islamic State fighters on Friday was conducted using F-15 Eagle jets, A-10 Thuderbolt ground attack aircraft and AH-64 Apache helicopters.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, said more strikes should be expected.

US

New photos of Jeffrey Epstein’s circle among thousands of files released

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

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New photos of Jeffrey Epstein's circle among thousands of files released

New photos of the people in Jeffrey Epstein’s circle are among thousands of documents released by the US Department of Justice.

The tranche of material relating to the dead paedophile financier was made public shortly after 9pm UK time – hours before a legal deadline in the US following the passing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

They include images of his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a prison sentence after she was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with Epstein in 2021.

Follow live updates: What’s in latest documents

In one picture, she is seen posing outside 10 Downing Street, while in another, she is pictured in a swimming pool with Bill Clinton and a woman, whose face has been obscured.

The former US president is also pictured in a hot tub with an unidentified woman in another picture, while a separate image shows a painting of Mr Clinton wearing a blue dress with red high heels.

The context of the photos is unknown and being identified in the files does not suggest any wrongdoing.

In his 2024 memoir, Citizen: My Life After The White House, Mr Clinton wrote: “The bottom line is, even though it allowed me to visit the work of my foundation, travelling on Epstein’s plane was not worth the years of questioning afterward. I wish I had never met him.”

Many of the documents in the release have been heavily redacted, including a “masseuse list”, in which all 254 entries have been blacked out.

All 119 pages of a grand jury document are redacted in their entirety, while scores of women’s portraits, many of which appear to show them in sexual positions or are titled “nude”, are blacked out.

There are also handwritten notes, flight logs, and a contact book.

Another file features a scrapbook featuring pictures of Epstein and redacted pictures of women, with the caption on one page: “Is my cover blown?”

The US deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, said in a letter to Congress that more than 1,200 victims and their families were identified during a review of the records, which have been redacted to protect victims.

Celebrities including the late Michael Jackson, Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger, Motown singer Diana Ross and comedian Chris Tucker are among those pictured in the files. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by them.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles following controversy over his relationship with Epstein, and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, also appear.

The former duke has been dogged by allegations that he sexually assaulted then 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked by Epstein. He has always denied the accusations and any wrongdoing.

He paid millions to Ms Giuffre, whom he claims to have never met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022.

In one picture from the newly released files, the former prince is seen lying across five women, whose faces have been redacted, while Maxwell is stood behind smiling. It is not known where or when the photo was taken.

Several charities cut ties with Ms Ferguson after it emerged she had written a gushing message to Epstein, describing him as her “supreme friend”. Her spokesperson said she wrote the note because he had threatened to sue her.

Another Epstein associate, Lord Mandelson, is pictured with the late sex offender blowing the candles out on a birthday cake. It is a picture that has been published before.

Lord Mandelson was fired as the ambassador to the US in September over his links to Epstein.

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