OAN Staff Blake Wolf
9:26 AM – Sunday, November 2, 2025
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard informed reporters that the era of “regime change or nation building” has ended under the leadership of President Donald Trump.
As tensions rise between the United States and Venezuela due to Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s alleged drug trafficking allegations, Gabbard assured that the United States would not engage in another regime change war.
“For decades, our foreign policy has been trapped in a counterproductive and endless cycle of regime change or nation building,” Gabbard stated on Friday, prior to attending an annual security summit in Bahrain.
“It was a one-size-fits-all approach, of toppling regimes, trying to impose our system of governance on others, intervene in conflicts that were barely understood, and walk away with more enemies than allies,” she continued.
“The results: Trillions spent, countless lives lost and in many cases, the creation of greater security threats,” Gabbard added.
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Gabbard’s comments come as President Trump has ordered a buildup of warships off South America and covert CIA operations inside Venezuela, prompting concerns that the United States may be flirting with a regime change war.
The president has also authorized at least 14 strikes against boats reportedly containing illicit narcotics as part of the Venezuelan drug trade, killing 61 “narco-terrorists.”
Meanwhile, President Trump was asked on Friday whether he was considering striking inside Venezuela, to which he bluntly responded, “No.”
Despite Gabbard’s statement, the hawkish neo-conservative wing of the GOP, most notably Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), recently stated that “it’s time for [Maduro] to go,” essentially advocating for regime change in Venezuela.
“I think President Trump’s amde a decision that Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, is an indicted drug, drug trafficker, that it’s time for him to go, that Venezuela and Colombia have been safe havens for narco-terrorists for too long, and President Trump told me yesterday that he plans to brief members of Congress when he gets back from Asia about future potential military operations against Venezuela and Colombia,” Graham stated last week.
“The game is changing when it comes to drug traffickers and drug cartels,” he added. “We’re going to use military force like we have in the past to protect our country. That’s the new game we’re playing, and I’m glad we’re playing that game, and if I were Maduro, I’d find a way to leave before heat goes down.”
Graham also previously broke with President Trump over his decision to avoid seeking regime change in Iran during the 12 Day War, criticizing Trump’s ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
“There can be no peace between Iran and Israel until Iran decides to change its policy, which is the regime policy of destroying the state of Israel and killing all the Jews,” Graham stated in June. “Until that changes, nothing really changes. The [Iranian nuclear] program has been decimated, but the people who are in charge will come right back at Israel. So, I’m looking at regime change in this sense.”
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