US actions to oust Nicolás Maduro appear to be culminating, with the latest reports indicating a continuous US military mobilization across the Caribbean, coinciding with briefings to Donald Trump, during which senior Pentagon officials presented possible operational scenarios against Venezuela. This activity has raised questions about the possibility of regime change operations.
Officially, Washington and major media outlets cite anti-drug operations aimed at dissolving transnational criminal networks around Venezuela as the justification. However, the scale and disposition of US forces have fueled the hypothesis that this deployment may not only be about destroying "narco-terrorist" command structures.
The role of smuggling
In a thread on X, Jason Lewris from Parcl Labs—a platform with real-time housing market data—examines a different potential reason for the US military buildup, which goes beyond drug smuggling. He connects Venezuelan cartels with Iranian-backed organizations, such as Hezbollah.
"But drug smuggling may not be the whole story—or the real motive," Lewris writes. "A far more disturbing pattern is beginning to emerge."
"Here is how a small Venezuelan island (Isla de Margarita), Iranian-backed groups, and the American housing market may be connected within a sophisticated network of human trafficking into the US," he notes.
Lewris cites a 2013 text from the House Foreign Affairs Committee regarding "Hezbollah's STRATEGIC SHIFT: A GLOBAL TERRORIST THREAT." Based on this text, he underlines: "Hezbollah has conducted terrorist training on Margarita Island for recruits from Venezuela and other Latin American countries. Hezbollah agents and their associates hold senior positions in the Venezuelan government. They provide travel documents, weapons, and logistics support to terrorist operations and cocaine traffickers."
According to Lewris, the timing of the US operation in the Caribbean is crucial for understanding the phenomenon.
Key points of the thread
1. Cover through anti-drug operations? The White House is publishing increasingly spectacular videos showing US forces destroying drug trafficking vessels, such as recently in the Eastern Pacific, where six "narco-terrorists" were killed. These follow US attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities in June 2025 and are accompanied by a quiet concentration of military forces in Puerto Rico, suggesting a broader response to threats.
2. Historical ties to Margarita Island: Since 2013, according to House hearings, Venezuela's Isla de Margarita has served as a Hezbollah training base for local cartels, facilitating the exchange of tactics and resources. The long-standing alliance between Iran and Venezuela strengthens this structure.
3. Smuggling operations: Established cartel routes in the Caribbean, traditionally used for transporting drugs, may now be transporting people—possibly including operational executives of terrorist organizations. Concurrently, real estate clusters in the US owned by Venezuelans and Iranians through shell companies, near the southern border, offer potential "safe hubs," the product of many years.
And if these already seem concerning, the following constitute an even more serious threat to US national security.
"American officials are aware of the Iran-Venezuela cooperation. They know the smuggling routes that historically transported drugs," Lewris reported.
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