Bipartisan Support: Vast Majority of Americans Favor Ousting Nicolás Maduro

Americans across the board are backing Washington's tightening pressure on the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

According to a poll by The Harris Poll and HarrisX, a vast majority of U.S. voters,between 60% and 70%, without partisan distinction,considers the Chavista leader to be ruling a dictatorship, perceives him as an enemy of the country and supports measures ranging from his removal from power to his arrest and transfer to the U.S. to face justice.

The data is part of a national survey conducted in early December among more than 2,200 registered voters, with demographic weighting and a margin of error close to two points. According to the data, 75% of respondents believe Venezuela is a dictatorship, while 74% consider the Maduro regime an enemy of the United States. The perception transcends party lines and consolidates as a national security issue.

Americans' support becomes even more resounding when asked about concrete actions. Sixty-four percent support Maduro's removal from power, but that percentage rises to 85% when the context of narcoterrorism charges, Venezuela's economic collapse and mass immigration is incorporated. In addition, 76% support his arrest and transfer to United States to face trial, and two-thirds of voters consider his removal to be in the U.S. national interest.

The poll also yields a widespread perception of domestic illegitimacy. Sixty-two percent of Americans believe that Maduro does not have the support of the Venezuelan people, and 68% estimate that most Venezuelans would welcome his arrest or removal from power.

The link between the Venezuelan regime and organized crime, as denounced by Washington in recent months, is also an issue that generates consensus among Americans. 71% of respondents believe that the Maduro regime supports cartels and illicit activities, while 65% maintain that it is directly involved in drug trafficking. In parallel, 64% consider Venezuela to be allied with China and Russia, reinforcing the idea of a regime aligned with Washington's rival powers and financed by criminal activities.

Against this backdrop, 67% of Americans support the US destroying ships carrying drugs from South America, and 63% consider such attacks to be against legitimate targets, a figure that represents a clear endorsement of President Donald Trump in his effort to hit the cartels.

That support coincides with an intensification of operations in the Caribbean and Pacific. In total, since September 2, the United States destroyed at least 31 vessels in 27 attacks against suspected narco-boats in international waters. At least 107 people were killed in these operations, which Washington presents as part of its campaign against drug trafficking.

The most recent attack, executed just days before the close of 2025, left two people dead following a Southern Command action in the eastern Pacific. The escalation, however, has raised questions about the absence of judicial proceedings and the lack of a formal congressional declaration of war. Nevertheless, according to the poll, the attacks continue to enjoy majority support in the U.S. public opinion.

In recent days, moreover, it was discovered that the US is intensifying its pressure against Maduro beyond the Caribbean Sea. President Trump - in a radio interview first and a press conference later - confirmed this week an attack against a port area in Venezuela used to load drugs onto ships, which he described as an operation that caused a "big explosion."

Trump did not elaborate on the exact location or scope of the action. However, CNN, citing administration sources, linked the CIAto the operation and placed the drone strike in early December, while the president himself implied that it was a recent operation, in the days of Christmas, which opens the possibility that other similar attacks may have gone unnoticed.

To all this must be added the offensive on the Venezuelan oil flow. In the last three weeks the United States seized a sanctioned tanker carrying crude oil from Venezuela to Asia, intercepted another vessel not under sanctions and tried to board a third tanker heading to Venezuelan shores to load crude oil. The maneuvers seek to suffocate Chavism's sources of financing and reinforce the economic siege, which is already bearing fruit.

The hardening of the pressure against Maduro is taking place in a relatively favorable domestic political context. According to The Harris Poll and HarrisX, Trump shows a slight recovery in job approval and better evaluations in areas such as crime and immigration, issues directly linked to the national security approach to Venezuela.