Oil, Drugs and Terror: How Venezuela Became the Western Hemisphere’s Sleeping Threat

What you’re about to read may sound like the plot of a political thriller—but it’s real, and it’s happening right in our own backyard. There are two deeply intertwined reasons why the U.S. is confronting Donald Trump’s administration is zeroing in on Venezuela: drugs and oil—but not just that. This is about global rivals setting up shop next door. It’s about trafficking routes, proxy armies, and the erosion of U.S. security from the south.

Let’s break it down.

Reason One: Drugs—Lethal drugs

First, Venezuela is not only a transit country—it has become a conduit for deadly narcotics. Cocaine and increasingly fentanyl-laced product are entering the U.S., and there are credible reports that those shipments involve networks tied to the Venezuelan regime and its allies.

• The U.S. Justice Department has indicted top Venezuelan officials for “narco-terrorism” and trafficking conspiracy—highlighting that the state itself may be complicit. Atlantic Council Wikipedia

• Venezuela has become attractive for traffickers ever since the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was expelled and oversight diminished. Wikipedia

• The informal network known as the Cartel of the Suns (Cartel de los Soles) is widely reported to reach deep into Venezuelan military and government structures—serving as one of the shipping and distribution systems for illicit narcotics. Wikipedia

This isn’t a fringe allegation: it’s central to U.S. national-security concerns.

Reason Two: Oil—and the Geopolitical Playground

Second, but even more ominously according to some analysts, Venezuela is far from being a backwater country. It has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. Congress.gov+1 More than that, its territory is being used as a staging ground by the likes of Russia, China, Iran and terrorist-linked organizations.

• One policy brief warns that Venezuela has become a “hub for the convergence of transnational organized crime and international terrorism,” especially under the Maduro regime. Atlantic Council

• Another analysis states that Iran and its proxy Hezbollah view Latin America—and Venezuela specifically—as part of their global “counter-U.S.” footprint. Real Instituto Elcano

• A more recent piece highlights that Russia, China and Iran are already using illicit trade routes to exploit Venezuela’s oil, gold and drug infra-structure to challenge U.S. influence in the region. Maritime Strategy Center

In short: Venezuela matters not just for its oil, but for its role as a gateway, a platform—and a threat—to U.S. security.

Iran’s Terror Training Network in Venezuela

Iran’s footprint in Venezuela is neither symbolic nor new — it’s strategic. For over a decade, Tehran has treated Caracas as a forward operating base to launder money, evade sanctions, train proxy fighters, and expand influence across Latin America.

• Margarita Island, off Venezuela’s northern coast, has long been cited by U.S. and regional intelligence sources as a hub for Hezbollah and IRGC operations. It functions as a logistics center for money-laundering, drug-trafficking, and training recruits from Venezuelan gangs who are later sent to Iran for advanced paramilitary instruction.

• These activities were first highlighted in 2011 U.S. congressional testimony revealing that Hugo Chávez had hosted a “Secret Summit” in 2010 that included the Supreme Leader of Hamas, Hezbollah’s chief of operations, and the Secretary General of Palestinian Islamic Jihad — a tri-terror coalition meeting just a few hundred miles from U.S. shores.

• Analysts confirm that Hezbollah cells embedded within Venezuela’s Lebanese diaspora communities provide intelligence, fundraising, and recruitment pipelines that connect to the IRGC-Quds Force, Iran’s external operations branch.

• Iranian airlines such as Mahan Air have conducted sanctioned flights between Tehran and Caracas, ferrying not just goods but suspected IRGC officers and weapons components — directly linking Iran’s global terror logistics to Venezuelan soil.

• These links are corroborated by open-source reports from the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and State Department Counterterrorism Briefs, describing Iran and Hezbollah’s influence as a destabilizing “trans-regional threat network.”

In essence, Venezuela has become Iran’s Western Hemisphere training and logistics hub, allowing Tehran to project asymmetric power against the United States without crossing the Atlantic.Evidence of Terror/Trafficking Nexus

Here are some of the most alarming documented links:

• A report titled “The New Nexus of Narcoterrorism: Hezbollah and Venezuela” outlines how cocaine trafficked through Venezuela has financed Middle Eastern terrorist groups, and how recruiting/training centers have been established in Latin America. Foreign Policy Research Institute

• The Atlantic Council’s “Maduro–Hezbollah Nexus” briefs how Hezbollah and Iran-backed networks are deeply embedded with the Venezuelan regime’s illicit economy. Atlantic Council

• Over the years, Venezuelan officials such as Tareck El Aissami have been sanctioned by the U.S. on allegations of money-laundering, drug-trafficking and terror pipeline operations tied to the Middle East. Wikipedia

These are not fringe claims—they are part of official U.S. government sanction and indictment documents.

Why the U.S. is Now Acting

The mobilization we’re seeing—whether via military assets, interdiction and political pressure—reflects the fact that action is being taken.

• A commentary in 2024 argued it is time to designate Venezuela as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” because of its drug-trafficking and terrorist links. RAND Corporation

• A recent piece in November 2025 points out that Russia, China and Iran are intervening in Venezuela via illicit trade and strategic arms support to challenge U.S. regional dominance. Maritime Strategy Center

The U.S. administration has cited these twin threats—massive illicit drug flows and geopolitical encroachment—as justification for intensified operations.

What’s Not Yet Public—But Critical

• While direct, detailed publicly verified proof of a “boat shot out” narrative (as referenced in the source text) is limited in open-media sources, the broader pattern of U.S. interdiction and Venezuelan involvement in narcotics routes is well documented.

• Some reports of paramilitary training camps and gang recruitment in Venezuela, involving foreign actors, remain hard to fully verify—however the intelligence community and independent researchers caution that these activities should not be dismissed.

• The oil-trafficking nexus (oil-for-arms or oil-for-political leverage) is partly clandestine, though the convergence of oil, sanctions evasion and state-criminal collusion in Venezuela is consistently flagged by analysts.

In short: while some details may still be under seal or classified, the core elements of the narrative—drugs, oil and foreign proxy forces—are solidly grounded.

The Stakes for America

• Public health: fentanyl, cocaine, and other illicit substances flooding into U.S. cities carry death. They do not arrive by accident.

• National security: if hostile states and terror proxies use Venezuelan territory or infrastructure to threaten the U.S., we face a frontline in our hemisphere, not halfway across the world.

• Energy & economy: Venezuela’s oil is globally strategic. If the regime uses it as a bargaining chip or leverage point for anti-U.S. alliances, Americans will feel the ripple effects.

• Rule of law and governance: a government that tolerates, protects or profits from drug-trafficking and terror networks undermines every principle the U.S. asserts about democracy and human rights.

Conclusion

This is a real, multi-layered threat: narcotics routes that kill Americans, a resource-rich country turned anti-U.S. platform, and foreign adversaries drilling in on our hemisphere via Venezuela. The narrative is complex—but the fundamentals are clear and alarming.

The question now is: Will the U.S. silence or address this threat? It appears the Trump administration is opting for the latter—moving beyond rhetoric into concrete action. The coming months will reveal whether that shift is enough to disrupt the dangerous nexus forming in Venezuela, or whether the fire spreads.

References

Atlantic Council. (2020, July 16). The Maduro–Hezbollah nexus: How Iran-backed networks prop up the Venezuelan regime. Atlantic Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/issue-brief/the-maduro-hezbollah-nexus-how-iran-backed-networks-prop-up-the-venezuelan-regime/

Berman, I. (2020, September 16). Iran and Hezbollah in the Western Hemisphere: Strategic implications for the United States. American Foreign Policy Council. https://www.afpc.org/publications/articles/iran-and-hezbollah-in-the-western-hemisphere

Center for a Secure Free Society. (2014, May). Canada on guard: Assessing the threat of Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba in the Western Hemisphere. Secure Free Society. https://securefreesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Canada-on-Guard.pdf

Center for Maritime Strategy. (2025, November 5). China, Iran, and Russia will intervene in Venezuela to threaten U.S. regional hegemony. Center for Maritime Strategy. https://centerformaritimestrategy.org/publications/china-iran-and-russia-will-intervene-in-venezuela-to-threaten-u-s-regional-hegemony/

Friedman, R. E. (2011, December 21). The new nexus of narcoterrorism: Hezbollah and Venezuela. Foreign Policy Research Institute. https://www.fpri.org/article/2011/12/the-new-nexus-of-narcoterrorism-hezbollah-and-venezuela/

Humire, J. M. (2017, June 8). Iran’s strategic penetration of Latin America. U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA07/20170608/106089/HHRG-115-FA07-Wstate-HumireJ-20170608.pdf

RAND Corporation. (2024, August 14). It’s time to designate Venezuela as a state sponsor of terrorism. RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/08/its-time-to-designate-venezuela-as-a-state-sponsor.html

Real Instituto Elcano. (2022, April 12). Iran and its proxy Hezbollah: Strategic penetration in Latin America. Real Instituto Elcano. https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/en/work-document/iran-and-its-proxy-hezbollah-strategic-penetration-in-latin-america-wp/

Reuters. (2025, November 1). Russia denounces “excessive” U.S. military force in Caribbean, backs Venezuela. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/russia-denounces-excessive-us-military-force-caribbean-backs-venezuela-2025-11-01/

United States Congress. (2011, July 7). Hearing on “Hezbollah in Latin America – Implications for U.S. Homeland Security.” House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg72220/pdf/CHRG-112hhrg72220.pdf

United States Congress. (2017, June 8). Venezuela: Political crisis and U.S. policy (CRS Report R44841). Congressional Research Service. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R44841

U.S. Department of Justice. (2020, March 26). Nicolás Maduro Moros and 14 current and former Venezuelan officials charged with narco-terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking, and other criminal charges. U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/nicolás-maduro-moros-and-14-current-and-former-venezuelan-officials-charged-narco-terrorism

U.S. Southern Command. (2023, March). Posture statement of General Laura Richardson before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Western Hemisphere. U.S. Department of Defense. https://www.southcom.mil/Media/Speeches-Testimony/Article/3332321/

Washington Post. (2025, October 3). U.S. kills four alleged drug smugglers near Venezuela, Hegseth says. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/10/03/hegseth-venezuela-drug-strike/

Washington Post. (2025, October 15). Trump says he has authorized covert CIA action in Venezuela. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/10/15/trump-cia-venezuela-maduro-drug-cartel/

Wikipedia contributors. (2024, April 14). Cartel of the Suns. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartel_of_the_Suns

Wikipedia contributors. (2024, May 2). Illegal drug trade in Venezuela. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drug_trade_in_Venezuela

Wikipedia contributors. (2024, June 3). Tareck El Aissami. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tareck_El_Aissami