Secretary of State Marco Rubio appears to be spearheading an aggressive campaign to bring down Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. That means that the United States is on a road toward a war with Caracas.

The U.S. instigated a war when it started striking civilian boats allegedly carrying narcotics to the U.S.

At least 61 people, many of them Venezuelans, have been killed in U.S. strikes on boats in international waters, which the Trump administration said, without providing evidence, were carrying drugs. The strikes, which the Trump administration has said are part of an “armed conflict” with cartels, were ordered without congressional approval. These attacks have been rightly condemned as war crimes.

U.S. Strikes A 4th Venezuelan Boat, Committing More War Crimes

 According to USA Today‘s reporting, eight U.S. warships are patrolling the waters off Venezuela, and the largest U.S. aircraft carrier, along with its three escorts, is en route to the region. Roughly 10,000 troops are stationed in the area. B-1 and B-52 bombers have approached Venezuelan airspace three times in two weeks, in an undisputed threat of force.

Trump Has Confirmed The CIA is Operating In Venezuela

Since then, the U.S. has ignited a campaign led by Rubio to oust Maduro, which has ramped up tensions between the two countries. For his part, Maduro has suggested that he understands precisely what Trump and Rubio are doing.

“They promised they would never again get involved in a war, and they are fabricating a war,” Maduro said on October 24th after the Pentagon announced the USS Gerald Ford, the world’s largest warship, was headed toward South America.

Rubio, who is also acting national security advisor, is pushing for an end to the Maduro regime that has opposed the U.S. for decades. It is also said to have sparked an exodus of nearly 7.9 million migrants, including more than 700,000 who have made their way to the U.S. The U.S. ruling class is also extremely perturbed by the migration to the country, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ramped up its violence against those who have entered the U.S.

“The Administration’s policy is ‘maximum pressure’ on the Maduro regime,” a White House official told USA Today on October 27th. “No negotiations that could potentially benefit the regime are occurring.”

Will the U.S. and Venezuela go to war? What do you think?