This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The End of the American Dream. 

While many Americans are searching for the best online holiday deals and figuring out what to watch on Netflix tonight, a storm is gathering. Decisions that are being made right now could radically alter the course of human history, but most of the population is so self-occupied that they don’t even realize what is happening. We could soon find ourselves involved in multiple global wars simultaneously, and once we reach that stage, there will be no turning back.

At this hour, a naval task force that includes the most advanced aircraft carrier on the entire planet stands ready to start striking Venezuela…

The arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford gives the US Joint Task Force established in the region the option to launch a high volume of attacks against land targets, should Trump give the order. According to media reports, there are now 15,000 troops in the region, including marines on ships and some 5,000 personnel at bases in Puerto Rico.

This massive deployment has, arguably, sought to convince Maduro’s loyalists that US action is now an option on the table.

Many of us had been hoping that this show of force was just meant to intimidate Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

But now President Trump has given Maduro an ultimatum, and the rest of the world knows about that ultimatum…

As Washington prepares to launch land attacks inside Venezuela, a long-awaited phone call between the White House and Caracas aimed at defusing the crisis carried a blunt message for strongman Nicolás Maduro: You can save yourself and those closest to you, but you must leave the country now, sources familiar with the exchange told the Miami Herald.

The call — which The New York Times reported took place last week — quickly reached an impasse as it became clear that the two sides’ positions were far apart. Washington demanded that Maduro and his top allies leave Venezuela immediately to allow the restoration of democratic rule, while regime leaders proposed handing political control to the opposition but retaining command of the armed forces.

According to the sources, the U.S. message to Maduro was direct: Safe passage would be guaranteed for him, his wife Cilia Flores, and his son only if he agreed to resign right away.

When asked about this phone call, President Trump confirmed that it took place…

President Donald Trump confirmed to reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One that he spoke with Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro over the phone.

“I don’t want to comment on it. The answer is yes,” President Trump said when asked about a report published Friday by the leftist publication the New York Times, which has published Maduro as a contributor, stating that Trump had recently spoken with Maduro.

Maduro has decided to call Trump’s bluff, and so now Trump finds himself in a very uncomfortable position.

If Trump doesn’t send the military in, Maduro wins, and Trump will look like a chump.

But starting a regime change war in Venezuela would force us to commit a large portion of our military assets for an extended period of time, it would severely damage our relationships with both Russia and China, and it could potentially spark a broader conflict.

We should get a clear indication of what is coming next very soon.  CNN is reporting that a White House meeting to discuss “next steps on Venezuela” was scheduled for Monday evening…

President Donald Trump will hold a meeting at the White House on Monday evening about next steps on Venezuela, sources familiar with the matter told CNN, as the administration intensifies its pressure campaign on the country and questions mount about whether the military is exceeding its lawful authority.

Key members of Trump’s Cabinet and national security team, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to attend, as well as White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

Even at this late hour, let us hope that cooler heads prevail.

But one former diplomat just told Fox News that she expects military operations to begin right away…

“I think the operations will start imminently,” former Venezuelan diplomat Vanessa Neumann told Fox News Digital.

“The clearing of the airspace is an indication and a very clear public warning that missiles might be coming to take out command and control infrastructure or retaliatory infrastructure,” Neumann said. “This will not be like breaking a jar into a thousand pieces, this is where you can lift the concentration of power, and it’s easier to manage.”

“The targets have been identified through covert operations over the last several years by people on the ground,” she continued. “So they’re well-mapped. This is a capture-or-kill scenario, but there’s a limit to how many people you can remove quickly.”

Meanwhile, tensions in Europe just continue to rise.

For some reason, the chair of NATO’s Military Committee decided that it was a good idea to publicly say that at some point the alliance may need to take pre-emptive action against Russia…

NATO could fire the first shot against Russia in the face of Vlad’s escalating shadow war on Europe, a top admiral has warned.

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of Nato‘s Military Committee, said the alliance could be forced to strike pre-emptively – which would be a toughening of its current policy of waiting to react.

Wow.

Why in the world would he make a statement like that?

Admiral Dragone went on to suggest that a pre-emptive strike on Russia could potentially be considered a defensive action…

The admiral said that a “pre-emptive strike” could, under certain circumstances, be classified as a defensive action – though it is “further away from our normal way of thinking and behaviour”.

This is the kind of thinking that could get us into a nuclear war.

Needless to say, the Russians were not amused…

Dragone’s remarks are “an extremely irresponsible step, indicating the readiness of the alliance to continue to move toward escalation,” Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for Moscow’s Foreign Ministry, said in comments reported by state media on Monday.

Every step of the way, the Europeans have been trying to sabotage peace negotiations with the Russians.

Of course, there is probably zero chance that the Russians and the Ukrainians will be able to reach any sort of an agreement, but if President Trump is able to pull off some sort of a diplomatic miracle, a major British news source is telling us that the Europeans are apparently prepared to implement a “nuclear option”…

European states are considering adopting the “nuclear option” of sinking the US economy, if Donald Trump sells out Ukraine and endangers security on the continent. Talks between US and Ukrainian officials continued on Sunday in Miami, as both sides attempt to thrash out a peace deal.

This “nuclear option” would reportedly involve selling off trillions of dollars in U.S. government debt…

Sources told the WSJ that European leaders are considering adopting extreme countermeasures in retaliation, designed to unleash economic chaos in the US.

The alleged plan involves dumping trillions in US government debt owned by European states.

A rapid sell off would likely cause a crash in the value of the US dollar, create a liquidity criss across the banking system and cause a huge spike in borrowing costs. It would also lock the American financial sector into a paralysis more severe than the 2008 crisis.

Why are the Europeans so determined to keep this war going?

Ukraine is losing more territory almost every single day.

In fact, the Russians just took Pokrovsk and Vovchansk…

Russia finally and formally announced Monday its forces have captured the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, the long fought-over strategic military logistics hub, as well as the city of Vovchansk in the northeast.

The capture of Pokrovsk has long been seen as inevitable, after starting weeks ago Russian troops were filmed patrolling freely and casually in a southern district of the city which had a pre-war population of 60,000.

Russia’s military chief of staff, Valery Gerasimov, on Sunday had “informed [President] Vladimir Putin of the liberation of the cities of Krasnoarmeysk and Vovchansk,” according to the Kremlin statement first released on Telegram Monday. Krasnoarmeysk is the Russian name for Pokrovsk.

The only way that Ukraine could win the war would be if NATO forces get directly involved.

Has that been the plan all along?

If so, it is an insane plan, because that would put us just one step away from nuclear war.

I don’t want to end this article without talking about the situation in the Middle East.

Just hours ago, the Iranians seized yet another oil tanker…

Iran has seized a vessel it says was carrying smuggled fuel, marking the latest escalation in a growing series of maritime confrontations in the already volatile waters near the Strait of Hormuz.

The incident comes as tensions between Iran, its regional neighbors and the United States continue to intensify, with stalled diplomacy and renewed sanctions contributing to a climate of heightened regional instability.

Ever since the end of the 12 Day War, the Iranians have been feverishly rebuilding their missile arsenal.

And they are pledging never to give up their nuclear program.

It would be wonderful if some sort of a peaceful solution was possible, but at this stage the Iranians are refusing to talk to the United States, and they certainly don’t want to talk to Israel.

On Monday, one Israeli official acknowledged that they are monitoring what Iran is doing, and he warned that “all fronts are still open”…

Defense Ministry’s Amir Baram warned that “Iran’s rapid force buildup in air defense and ballistic missile capabilities” driven by “its extremist ideology” means that “all fronts are still open.”

Israel is working on new technologies for the next potential war with Iran, Defense Ministry Director-General Amir Baram said on Monday.

Speaking from the Defense Tech conference jointly sponsored by the ministry and Tel Aviv University, Baram warned that “Iran’s rapid force buildup in air defense and ballistic missile capabilities” driven by “its extremist ideology” means that “all fronts are still open” and the IDF must be ready for additional rounds of fighting.

It appears to be just a matter of time before Israel and Iran start fighting again.

And it appears to be just a matter of time before the conflict in Ukraine goes to the next level.

So this is a really bad time to begin a regime change war in Venezuela, but that is apparently what is going to happen.

The storm is gathering, my friends.

Get prepared for it while you still can.

Michael’s new book, entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next,” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book, entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next,” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com, including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books, you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream, and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.