If you walked into a bar and asked ten different people if the U.S. is currently "at war," you’d get ten different answers. Some would point to the news alerts on their phones about the Caribbean; others would say we haven't been in a real war since the 1940s. Honestly, both are kinda right, which is what makes the question of who is america at war with right now 2025 so incredibly messy.
The truth is, if you’re looking for a formal, "Congress signed a piece of paper" kind of war, the answer is nobody. The last time that happened was 1942. But if you’re looking at where American boots are hitting the ground, where drones are flying, and where missiles are actually being traded, the map looks a lot more crowded.
The Shocking Shift in Venezuela: Operation Absolute Resolve
Most people are currently fixated on the South. On January 3, 2026—just a few weeks ago in our current timeline—the world woke up to the news that U.S. Special Forces had basically snatched Nicolás Maduro right out of Caracas. It was part of something called Operation Absolute Resolve.
This wasn't just a small skirmish. We’re talking about a large-scale strike involving F-35s and Delta Force. The U.S. didn't just target Maduro; they hit military installations and anti-aircraft units. While the administration frames this as a "counternarcotics initiative" because they labeled the Maduro regime a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), let’s be real: it looks, walks, and talks like a war.
The U.S. is now effectively in a state of high-intensity intervention in Venezuela. We have a blockade of oil tankers. We’re striking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that we say are tied to cartels. It’s a massive escalation that has most of Latin America—especially Colombia—on edge.
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Is This a "War" or Just a "Raid"?
That’s the million-dollar question. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says there’s no further action planned now that Maduro is in custody in New York facing narco-terrorism charges. But with the Venezuelan military recognizing Delcy Rodríguez as acting president and calling the whole thing a "kidnapping," the potential for a prolonged insurgency is huge.
The Quiet Grinds: Syria, Yemen, and the Sahel
While Venezuela is the "new" thing, the old conflicts haven't just vanished. They’ve just become part of the furniture.
Yemen and the Houthis are a perfect example. Early in 2025, the U.S. launched some of the heaviest strikes to date against Houthi targets to keep the Red Sea open. Then there was a weird, brief ceasefire in May. But by now, the cycle has started back up. The Houthis are still firing, and we’re still intercepting. It’s a "war of attrition" that never seems to make the front page unless a major ship gets hit.
Then you’ve got Syria.
It’s easy to forget we still have troops there.
They are constantly under fire from Iran-backed groups.
The Islamic State (ISIS) is actually surging again in northeast Syria, staging over 100 attacks in the last several months. We aren't "at war" with a country there, but we are definitely in a violent, daily struggle with non-state actors that want us gone.
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The "New" Enemy: The Cartel War
The biggest change in 2025 isn't a conflict with a foreign army. It’s the rebranding of the War on Drugs.
The Trump administration took a radical step by designating several Latin American cartels—like the Tren de Aragua and the Cartel de los Soles—as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. This sounds like a legal technicality, but it’s the "Open Sesame" for the Pentagon. It allows the military to use the same tools they used against Al-Qaeda against criminal gangs.
So, when you ask who we are at war with, the answer includes:
- Transnational criminal organizations in Mexico and South America.
- "Adversarial" regimes harboring these groups (which is the justification used for Venezuela).
- Proxy groups in the Middle East that continue to harass shipping lanes.
Why This Matters for You
You might think, "Okay, but how does this affect my Tuesday morning?"
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First, there’s the legal precedent. The White House is currently arguing that the War Powers Act is basically unconstitutional or at least doesn't apply to these "special operations." This is a huge shift in how much power a President has to start a fight without asking Congress.
Second, there’s the risk of "horizontal escalation." Experts at the Soufan Center have warned that when you start treating cartels like ISIS, they might start acting like ISIS. We’re seeing a shift where these groups might target U.S. infrastructure or law enforcement at home rather than just fighting in the jungles.
Actionable Insights: Staying Informed and Safe
In a world where "war" isn't always declared, you have to look at the actions, not just the labels. Here is how you can actually track what’s happening:
- Watch the NAVNOTEs and NOTAMs: When the FAA issues a "Notice to Airmen" prohibiting flights over a country (like they did for Venezuela on Jan 3), that’s your first signal that real kinetic military activity is happening.
- Follow the "FTO" Designations: If the State Department labels a group a "Foreign Terrorist Organization," expect military or special ops activity to follow within 6 to 12 months.
- Check the War Powers Reports: By law, the President has to report to Congress within 48 hours of introducing forces into hostilities. These reports are public and often contain more detail than a 30-second news clip.
- Monitor Regional Reactions: Don't just look at what Washington says. Look at what Brazil or Colombia is saying. If they start moving their own troops to their borders, the situation is much more unstable than the official "mission accomplished" narrative suggests.
The definition of war has changed. It's no longer about two armies in trenches. It's about snatch-and-grab raids, drone strikes on "terrorist" tankers, and special ops teams in the Caribbean. We might not be in a "World War," but we are certainly in a global state of active, violent friction.