Venezuela Over Barrels: U.S. Military Presence in South America Is Also about China’s Oil Supply
Joshua Philipp, senior investigative reporter with The Epoch Times and host of Crossroads, has spent years tracking the dark intersections of organized crime, espionage, and geopolitics. From interviewing cartel insiders in Central America to exposing transnational networks that link state corruption to global trafficking, Philipp brings rare on-the-ground credibility and a deep understanding of how illicit economies fuel international conflict. His expertise makes him one of the few voices who can connect what’s unfolding in South America to the broader struggle between the U.S., China, Iran, and Russia.
So why is the U.S. increasing its military presence in Central and South America? There are several potential answers. The stated reason has to do with confronting drug cartels. Another reason may involve the stability of that nation and its leader Nicolas Maduro, who many see as illegitimate. Still other reasons involve the interests of China and Russia.
It’s no coincidence that the latest actions in Venezuela by the U.S. come just days after China announced that it was moving the goalposts on its rare earths deal with the U.S. Some months back, China agreed to lift export controls on rare earths and recently reneged on that deal. Not long after that, we see a U.S. presence in Venezuela, a country that China desperately needs for its oil.
Venezuela as Ground Zero
The situation in Venezuela isn’t isolated — it’s a convergence point. Behind the headlines of drug raids and cartel clashes lies a far bigger story: Venezuela’s role as a geopolitical hub for America’s greatest adversaries. China relies heavily on Venezuelan oil to offset its own energy vulnerabilities and fund its Belt and Road projects. Russia uses the Maduro regime as both a military and intelligence foothold in the Western Hemisphere. Iran, meanwhile, has leveraged its relationship with Caracas to evade sanctions, move oil, and extend its influence into Latin America — the same region now seeing Iranian-linked activity spill over into the Gaza conflict.
When President Trump authorized recent U.S. operations off Venezuela’s coast, it wasn’t just about narcotics. The move strategically targets the economic and logistical arteries that connect China, Iran, and Russia through Venezuela’s collapsing infrastructure. Disrupting those flows hits Beijing’s oil security, Tehran’s covert trade routes, and Moscow’s ability to project influence south of the Caribbean.
Philipp can break down how these shadow networks operate — from the Venezuelan gangs and the Cartel of the Suns to Chinese-linked money laundering and Iranian shipping intermediaries. He connects the dots between oil, drugs, and ideology — and explains how Venezuela has become the Western Hemisphere’s testing ground for the world’s new power alignments.
Joshua Philipp is available for television, radio, and podcast interviews to discuss the strategic significance of Venezuela’s crisis, the global alliances sustaining it, and why U.S. engagement there is far more than a regional policing action — it’s the front line of a 21st-century geopolitical chess match.
Would you like to schedule Joshua for a segment this week?
Relevant Article(s)
US Embassy warns Americans in Trinidad and Tobago as tensions with Venezuela rise – ABC News
Here’s what the US military has positioned in the Caribbean as Trump pressures Venezuela | CNN
OPTIONAL Q&A:
- What makes Venezuela the new focal point in the global struggle between the U.S., China, Russia, and Iran?
- How do China’s oil interests in Venezuela tie into Beijing’s broader economic and strategic ambitions?
- Is the U.S. targeting Venezuela primarily to cut off drug trafficking, or to disrupt China’s and Iran’s influence in the region?
- What kind of cooperation exists between Venezuela’s Maduro regime and foreign powers like China, Russia, and Iran?
- How are Venezuelan criminal networks, such as the Cartel of the Suns, connected to global trafficking and money-laundering operations?
- In what ways does Iran’s activity in Venezuela overlap with its operations in the Middle East, including Gaza?
- Could Venezuela’s instability spill over into neighboring countries or trigger wider conflict in the Western Hemisphere?
- What indicators should we watch for that would show whether U.S. actions in Venezuela are part of a broader realignment of power?
ABOUT JOSHUA PHILIPP…
Joshua Philipp is an award-winning journalist and Senior Investigative Reporter at The Epoch Times. He is the host of ‘Crossroads,’ a news and analysis program on EpochTV. His works have included breakthrough investigations into the origins of Covid-19 and the Wuhan laboratory in the early days of the pandemic. He spearheaded the first documentary on the lab leak origins of the COVID-19 virus, released in April 2020. This groundbreaking documentary garnered over 75 million views, and while many tried to label it misinformation, its findings have since been vindicated by the White House and US intelligence agencies.
EXPERT ANALYSIS FROM JOSHUA PHILIPP
Joshua Philipp, senior investigative reporter at The Epoch Times and a recognized China expert, has mapped out these networks during his 15-plus years of research into the CCP. He provides a deeper context on the CCP’s attempts to subvert the systems and institutions in the United States. As the Chinese regime states, they aim to “strangle you with your own systems,” and that tactic is playing out across key industries and institutions in the US.
Josh is also a leading expert on Chinese unconventional warfare and United Front operations, which he has investigated and exposed since 2008. His 15-plus years of research and investigations on the Chinese Communist Party, subversion, human rights abuses and related topics give him unique insight into the global threat and political landscape.
DOCUMENTARIES/SERIES
• Tracking Down the Origin of the Wuhan Coronavirus
• The Final War: The 100-Year Plot to Defeat America
NOTABLE APPEARANCES
• The National Press Club
• Harvard University
• CPAC
• Turning Point USA
• Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News
• Steve Bannon’s War Room
• The U.S. Air Academy
CONTACT:
For further details or to arrange the interview, please contact Jerry McGlothlin at 919-437-0001 / Bookings@SeasonalLiving.com
CONTACT: Todd Baumann at 512-966-0983 or by email Jerry McGlothlin at bookings@specialguests.com.
