WASHINGTON (September 4, 2025) – On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said the United States carried out a military strike against a boat from Venezuela carrying drugs and killed 11 “terrorists”.
The attack is the latest of military escalations between the United States and Venezuela. The New York Times reported that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro “has threatened to respond to an armed attack in Venezuela with “maximum rebellion” and violence, while also saying he hopes that the U.S.-Venezuela relationship can continue with dialogue–not guns.”
Experts at the George Washington University are available to provide commentary and analysis on the U.S. international and economic relations. To speak with an expert, please contact Media Relations Specialist Shannon Mitchell at shannon [dot] mitchell
gwu [dot] edu (shannon[dot]mitchell[at]gwu[dot]edu).
Michael M. McCarthy, Professorial Lecturer at the Elliott School of International Affairs. McCarthy is an expert in the U.S. Foreign Policy, Latin America, the Global South, and Political Economy. Through his career McCarthy has founded two research advisories, Caracas Wire and Ceibo Growth Strategies. McCarthy lives and studied in Venezuela for two years and works as a consultant Venezuela expert for Freedom House, the Carter Center, Consilium Group Advisors, the Wilson Center, American University, and various law firms and university legal clinics. McCarthy is bilingual in English and Spanish.
Stephen B. Kaplan, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs. Kaplan is an expert in Latin American political economy, international and comparative political economy (global finance and development), the politics of macroeconomic policymaking, and Chinese foreign investment and development finance. Kaplan can speak to China’s economic integration in the Americas and its potential geopolitical ramifications.
Laura A. Dickinson, the Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law at The George Washington University Law School. Dickinson is an expert on national security, human rights, the law of armed conflict, and foreign affairs privatization. Author of Outsourcing War and Peace, Dickinson examines the increasing outsourcing of military and security functions, considers the impact of this trend on core public values, and outlines mechanisms for protecting these values in an era of privatization.
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