The aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford has returned to Venezuelan waters, along with the MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone, which was flying over Venezuelan airspace just weeks before January 3.
What is Washington’s main concern? It is the continued presence of armed foreign agents in Venezuela who are enemies of the United States. The Cuban Intelligence Directorate (G2) remains the operational backbone of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) and the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIN).
The Russians continue to maintain their S-300 anti-missile systems. Hezbollah clans and Iranian intelligence operatives are still active in Venezuela, according to CIA reports, which state that the agency has been operating in the country since August 2025.
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez has managed foreign alliances for many years, making her the Venezuelan linchpin of this entire structure, which now must be dismantled. This could trigger a self-coup. She is a hostage to her own security apparatus, or she may simply be applying a delaying tactic to reorganize her bases while simulating cooperation, hoping that US President Donald Trump will be diverted to other conflicts, such as the Iran-Israel one. This evasive posture has placed Plans B, C, and D on the table – plans that are not mutually exclusive.
A second, more aggressive wave of attacks is being considered, with military targets including Diosdado Cabello – an internal destabilizing figure who has consistently expressed his hatred of Israel, calling it a genocidal state – and Tareck El Aissami, captured President Nicolas Maduro’s former oil minister of Lebanese-Syrian origin, who brought Hezbollah into Venezuela and is a key external operator. Cooperation is also expected between DGCIN, SEBIN, and US intelligence agencies to locate these actors, allowing them to earn a valuable amnesty.
Venezuela a failed state from Washington's perspective
And the most controversial proposal? The creation of a Technocratic Council, similar to the peace board established to rebuild Gaza, but adapted to Venezuela. From Washington’s perspective, Venezuela is already a failed state. Irregular groups control parts of the national territory, ranging from foreign groups (Iranians) to armed syndicates.
There is a real collapse of basic services – electricity, water, and gas – along with massive migration affecting more than a third of the population, and an erosion of legitimacy extending from the presidency to the National Assembly and the Supreme Court of Justice. It meets every criterion.
That is why the United States prioritizes economic stability and immediate security over the figure of Maria Corina Machado, whose leadership could trigger a total rupture among armed groups fearful of losing their business models and protection. All of this is according to CIA reports.
The difference with the Gaza peace board is that Venezuela would be self-financing, given its vast resources. Engineers, technicians, economists, and specialists would come from the region itself – from neighboring and allied countries – under a de facto governor who, according to The Washington Post, would be US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, an unprecedented scenario for the region.
This would certainly be a transitional measure to ensure that Venezuela ceases to be a real threat to the hemisphere. It would be a high-risk phase: Democrats are raising strong objections and opposing everything associated with Trump. This is why Rubio’s appearance before the Senate is critically important, because he will explain the progress made, the current situation in Venezuela, and the next steps. Maria Corina Machado is scheduled to hold a closed-door meeting with Rubio following the hearing.
And from Israel, we ask: Will the United States bet on the Maria Corina Machado–Edmundo González ticket, even if it entails military risk? Has Delcy’s time run out – and has Trump run out of patience?
The writer is a Venezuelan-Israeli journalist.