20/11/2025
Poll: Only 21% of Americans support using the armed forces to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
The Reuters/Ipsos poll also revealed that only 29% of Americans support the armed forces carrying out extrajudicial killings of suspected drug traffickers.
By Dave DeCamp | November 19, 2025, 8:23 p.m. ET | Venezuela
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that only 21% of Americans support the idea of using the U.S. armed forces to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. These results come amid a series of reports indicating that the Trump administration is considering a war to topple the Venezuelan regime.
The results are similar to those of a YouGov poll conducted in September, which found that only 18% of Americans supported the use of the armed forces to bring about regime change in Venezuela. The Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that 31% of respondents would favor ousting Maduro by other means, but sanctions and U.S.-backed coups in recent years have failed to topple the Venezuelan leader.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll also found that a majority of Americans, 51%, oppose the use of the armed forces to execute suspected drug traffickers without a judge or court order, reflecting a rejection of the Trump administration's bombing campaign against suspected drug ships in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (photo courtesy of the Venezuelan Presidential Press Office)
Only 29% of those surveyed said they supported the extrajudicial killings carried out by the U.S. military. This policy had the strongest support among Republicans, with 58% in favor and 27% against. Three-quarters of Democrats opposed the killings.
The United States has continued to significantly increase its military presence in the Caribbean, including the deployment of an aircraft carrier, while President Trump has been briefed on options for attacking Venezuela, ranging from limited strikes against military targets to sending troops to seize airfields
