Overview
- The 2025 National Security Strategy elevates the Western Hemisphere and homeland defense, reasserts the Monroe Doctrine, and maintains deterrence against China while placing less emphasis on Russia, the Middle East, and Africa.
- CRS outlines potential DOD shifts that include drawing down forces in Europe and the Middle East, building infrastructure in the Hemisphere and Indo‑Pacific, prioritizing homeland defenses like the Golden Dome system, and favoring long‑range air and maritime capabilities.
- Constraints noted by CRS include treaty obligations such as NATO commitments, basing and logistics challenges, and the need for time and funding to host returning forces and reorient the defense industrial base.
- U.S. measures targeting Venezuela reported in recent coverage include more than 20 strikes on alleged drug‑trafficking boats, seizure of the sanctioned tanker Skipper, an announced blockade of sanctioned oil tankers, and a large naval deployment near the country.
- The administration cites Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and outside influence, including nearly $60 billion in Chinese state loans, as strategic drivers, while Congress weighs budget, authority, and oversight questions and allies face pressure for greater burden sharing.