Video Does Not Show U.S. Military Drills Near Venezuelan Border
Emerging story
As tensions escalate between the U.S. and Venezuela, social media users widely circulated a video claiming to show U.S. military exercises near the Venezuelan border.
An X user posted the footage with the caption, “New footage reveals American forces conducting military drills just off #Venezuela’s border, heightening regional tensions amid rising hostility between Washington and Caracas.”
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Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the viral video and found the claim to be misleading; the video shows U.S. military drills at Camp Pendleton, California.
Video Shows 250th Anniversary Celebration of the United States Marine Corps
Misbar’s investigative team conducted a thorough reverse image search and found that the circulating footage is unrelated to any activity along the Venezuelan frontier.
A TikTok user posted the original video on TikTok a week earlier with the caption, “Happy No Kings Day.”
The same TikTok user shared three additional clips from the same location, showing tanks and U.S. aircraft in motion. In one of the videos, the user stated that the footage shows the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps.
The footage's caption reads, “Lcac 81!! My current craft. I helped rebuild this beauty! Coming in bass ackwards for their 250th!”
A geolocation account on X also verified the video’s location, identifying it as Camp Pendleton South, California, U.S. (coordinates: 33.259707, -117.436515, 7H57+V9Q).
U.S. Vice President Marks 250th Anniversary of Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton
During a large-scale event, Vice President JD Vance commemorated the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps on October 19 at Camp Pendleton, California.
The celebration, described by the Marines as the largest military demonstration in a decade on U.S. soil, featured fighter jets, helicopters, Navy vessels, and live fire.
In his address, Vance, the first Marine to serve as vice president, reflected on his service, saying,
“I would not be here today, I would not be the Vice President of the United States, I would not be the man I am today were it not for those four years that I served in the Marine Corps.”
The anniversary comes amid a period of cultural and policy shifts within the military, as the Pentagon under President Donald Trump has curtailed diversity initiatives and reversed several measures introduced over the past decade.
Venezuela's Maduro Accuses U.S. of ‘Fabricating War’
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the United States of “fabricating a new war” after Washington’s decision to deploy the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest warship, to the Caribbean.
The aircraft carrier, capable of carrying up to 90 aircraft, represents a major escalation of U.S. military presence in the region. The deployment follows ten U.S. airstrikes on vessels that Washington claims were linked to drug trafficking operations.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused Maduro of leading a drug-trafficking organization, a charge the Venezuelan leader firmly denies.
The United States, along with several other nations, does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate president, citing the 2024 election as fraudulent.
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