The Venezuelan internationalist José Vicente Carrasquero, professor of Political Science at Miami College and former director of International Studies at the Simón Bolívar University, recently analyzed the implications of the Operation Southern Lance, the massive US air-naval fleet deployed in the Caribbean Sea.
Carrasquero, in interview with ABC, assures that, although a total invasion is ruled out, the mission has clear surgical objectives against the drug trafficking and seeks to dismantle the defense capacity of the government of Nicolás Maduro.
“Operation Lanza del Sur is not going to invade Venezuela. They will be surgical operations to eradicate drug traffickers. The United States accuses Maduro and his clique of leading the Suns cartel. He is not president because he stole the 2024 elections,” he said for the Spanish media.
The internationalist drew parallels between this operation and some of the most significant US military actions of recent decades, indicating that Lanza del Sur is a synthesis of several strategies such as operation Neptune; Desert Storm (fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq) or the Libyan operation.
He naval deployment, added to the sightings of military boats near the Venezuelan island of La Orchila and in Trinidad and Tobago, indicates that “things are serious for the skeptics” and that US forces are “studying the terrain.” Carrasquero estimates that the execution of the operation could take “a few days or weeks.”
military objectives
The expert explained that the attacks of Operation Southern Spear will be surgical in nature, focused on criminal infrastructure without affecting the civilian population. He maintains that a first attack would have a “deterrence” purpose: “to make Nicolás Maduro and the military see that they do not have much to do against US military power.”
Regarding the oil infrastructure, Carrasquero emphasized: “it would not be touched at all”. The interest of the United States is to preserve these facilities, although the country is not currently a crucial supplier that could destabilize world crude oil prices.
“Invasion” and militarization
Carrasquero rejected the Maduro government’s narrative that the operation constitutes an invasion, describing it as “surgical operations to eradicate drug traffickers.” He highlighted the US accusation against Maduro and his clique of leading the Cartel of the Suns, and reiterated that The Chavista leader is not a legitimate president after the alleged electoral fraud of 2024.
Regarding militarization and the enlistment of militiamen by the ruling party, the analyst described it as an outdated effort. “It would be the deployment of the 80s and 70s, which at the moment I don’t think will have any success. And Russian weapons are not in their best condition,” he concluded.
