"Venezuela presents a long-standing challenge tied to narcotics trafficking and transnational criminal networks. For years, the country has functioned as a major transit hub for illicit drug flows, money laundering, and organized crime, with direct consequences for U.S. domestic security and for stability across the Western Hemisphere. These realities alone justify sustained U.S. attention. But criminal activity does not explain Venezuela's full strategic significance."
"These conditions are familiar. These are precisely the environments external adversarial powers exploit in the gray zone to embed influence and preserve leverage without crossing the threshold of open conflict. In such settings, influence is not imposed abruptly. It is embedded gradually, normalized through routine engagement, and retained for use when pressure mounts. That method, rather than any single triggering event - is what places Venezuela squarely within the scope of longer-term U.S. strategic concern."
Venezuela functions as a major transit hub for illicit drug flows, money laundering, and organized crime that affect U.S. domestic security and Western Hemisphere stability. Political isolation, economic dependence, weakened institutions, and contested legitimacy increase strategic vulnerability. External adversarial powers exploit such conditions in the gray zone by establishing access early, avoiding governance responsibility, and preserving leverage without triggering open conflict. Influence is embedded gradually and normalized through routine engagement, then retained for use when pressure mounts. These dynamics make Venezuela a sustained U.S. strategic concern that extends beyond criminal activity alone.
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