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Venezuelan citizens remain focused on economic survival despite escalating tensions between the United States and the Nicolas Maduro regime. President Trump announced Friday that he has decided on the next step regarding Venezuela after consulting military advisers, though he declined to reveal specifics. For months, U.S. Navy forces have been destroying drug-carrying vessels off Venezuela’s coast, with at least 20 boats eliminated and an estimated 80 “narco-terrorists” killed.
While Maduro responds with anti-American rhetoric, military mobilization, and appeals to Moscow for support, ordinary Venezuelans told The Washington Times they are too preoccupied with daily survival to heed his nationalist rallying cries. Former UN Ambassador Milos Alcalay noted that despite state television’s wartime atmosphere, life continues normally without significant public concern about potential U.S. military action.
Venezuela’s economic collapse under Maduro has created overwhelming challenges for citizens. With runaway inflation and a worthless bolivar, many depend on U.S. dollar remittances to purchase basic necessities.
Political scientist Yorelis Acosta de Oliveira explained that Maduro’s repeated warnings about U.S. “imperialist” aggression have lost effectiveness as economic crisis dominates public attention.
The former bus driver has cycled through three currencies, removing 11 zeros from the bolivar’s value.
Hyperinflation reached over 130,000% annually in 2018 by official figures, with independent estimates suggesting 1 million percent. Approximately 8 million Venezuelans—a quarter of the population—now live abroad, including 770,000 in the United States.
The Trump administration labels Venezuela a “narco-state,” accusing Maduro of leading the “Cartel of the Suns” and facilitating Colombian guerrillas’ cocaine shipments to America. The U.S. offers $50 million for Maduro’s arrest on drug trafficking charges. Former lawmaker Sergio Vergara confirmed that destroyed vessels were transporting drugs, describing Venezuela as a state using its power to support illicit trafficking.
Maduro attempts to rally support by criticizing Trump’s immigration crackdown and removal of temporary protected status from 300,000 Venezuelans, while avoiding mention of pending U.S. charges against him.
Experts suggest regime change remains complicated. Human rights advocate Feliciano Reyna warned that simply removing Maduro’s inner circle would accomplish little given the regime’s deep entrenchment in Venezuelan institutions after 25 years of socialist rule. Most Venezuelans remain resigned to focusing on immediate survival needs rather than political developments.
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