Tension is rising between the U.S and Venezuela. The latest threats from the US warning of stronger measures against Nicolas Maduro’s government — have sparked both fear and fragile hope across Venezuela.

Caracas

Venezuela has placed its military on high alert, expanding the Independence 200 defense campaign across the country in response to US operations in the Caribbean and calls from former US President Donald Trump for covert actions against President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro has denounced these moves as threats to Venezuelan sovereignty and compared them to previous US interventions in other countries.

On the streets, Venezuelans express a mix of concern and resignation, with some fearing the impact of potential conflict and others emphasizing the need for internal solutions to the country's problems. The US continues to conduct anti-narcotics operations in the region, accusing Maduro of leading a drug trafficking cartel, a claim many see as a pretext for regime change. Analysts suggest Maduro is seeking international support by framing the US actions as interventionist, while ordinary citizens remain focused on daily survival amid the uncertainty.

Venezuela on high-alert amid U.S strikes

A country on high alert. Venezuela is scaling up the Independence 200 defense campaign across the country, in response to operation by the United States in the Caribbean and Donald Trump's call to use covert operations against President Nicolás Maduro. Commander, we are ready for operations, says this member of the Bolivarian National Guard. Maduro says Venezuela's sovereignty is under attack. No to war in the Caribbean, yes to peace, no to change in governments that remind us of the failed wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, no to coups by the CIA. On the streets of Caracas, there is growing uncertainty about what will happen next. Daimir Milan is a florist who says Venezuela needs change. He says his main concern is being able to feed his family. We have lost our fear with everything that has happened in this country. We are not protesting anymore because our families ask us to stay at home. But things are not well. But José Pacheco says a war is not good for anyone. For me, they're not going to invade. That's ridiculous. And I don't want them to invade our country because the problems of the Venezuelans need to be solved by ourselves. How, I don't know. I don't want a war. The Trump administration continues to order strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean, and accuses Nicolás Maduro of being the leader of a narco-trafficking cartel. For many, the accusation is also a pretext to seek regime change. Analysts in Venezuela told Al Jazeera Maduro is trying to discredit the US anti-narcotics narrative to appeal for support in the international community. They have to tell people in the world that again the United States is trying to invade a Latin American country or stage a coup to generate some political cost for the Trump administration. They have to say that this is not an anti-drug-trafficking operation, but compare the situation in Venezuela with Vietnam, Iraq and other US failures. In spite of the military imbalance between both countries, the Venezuelan government says it's ready to defend itself against a US attack. But people's lives are caught between geopolitics and survival, while they wait to see what the Trump administration will do next.

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Breakdown