Trump's War: From Iran to Venezuela?

On Friday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to take all necessary steps to ensure that the name of the Department of Defense is "permanently changed to the Department of War."

Trump's justification for restoring the agency's former name (used until 1949) is that the current name is "too defensive, and we want to be offensive as well." According to a White House statement, the new designation will allow the United States to impose "peace by force" and "ensure that the world once again respects the United States."

The president had already replaced the name Gulf of Mexico with "Gulf of America" ​​and restored the original names of military bases—which had been changed after protests against their racist connotations. However, this latest measure seems to be the most indicative of the overall direction of the Trump administration, and also the most dangerous.

The adoption of the term "defense" by the United States after World War II was a pragmatic response to the risk of new world wars amidst the proliferation of nuclear weapons, which could lead to the annihilation of humanity and the planet. Thus, returning to the term "Ministry of War" and proposing ideas such as "imposing peace by force," in the current global scenario, sounds like a warning of imminent dangers.

One of the most significant developments in this regard is the increased US military presence off the coast of Venezuela, considered by President Nicolás Maduro to be "the greatest threat our continent has witnessed in a century." According to him, the US Navy has positioned eight warships in the region, "carrying 1.200 missiles."

According to the Associated Press, three more amphibious assault ships are expected to arrive, reinforcing a force that will include 4.000 sailors and marines. Last Tuesday, US troops attacked a vessel coming from Venezuela, resulting, according to Trump, in the death of 11 suspected terrorists. Although the attack was classified as an operation against the "drug cartel," the US government does not hide its broader political objectives. 

This intention was made clear in the statement by the US Secretary of Defense last Wednesday, when he stated that the decision regarding a possible regime change in Venezuela would be up to President Trump, adding that the United States is "fully prepared." 

In characterizing the Venezuelan leadership, US authorities resort to rhetoric that mixes political and criminal accusations. Maduro, according to the Trump administration's definition, is a "drug cartel leader." For this reason, Washington offered a reward of up to US$50 million for his capture.

The tendency to refer to the United States as the “Department of Defense” and the unprecedented escalation on the coast of Latin America are consistent with the major attack launched by Washington, in conjunction with Israel, against Iran on June 13. This led Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh to state on Friday that “the possibility of a war between Iran and the Zionist regime is very high.”

All of this is also consistent with the political and military coordination with Israel in the current attack on Gaza and with the complicity regarding the Israeli government's plans in the West Bank, through the implementation of the E1 plan and the announcement of measures to annex 82% of the occupied territory. Furthermore, it aligns with the relentless efforts to weaken and punish the Palestinian Authority, prevent its senior officials from entering the United States to participate in the UN General Assembly meeting, and combat the global movement for the recognition of a Palestinian state.

Changing the name of the U.S. Department of Defense, replacing the designation "Gulf of Mexico" with another name, or labeling Maduro as a "terrorist gang leader" are not purely "linguistic" issues; rather, they likely represent a prelude to a dangerous shift in global politics.