One of the factors that sped up the diplomatic break between the United States and Venezuela, which led to the current U.S. military force deployed to South American waters in recent weeks, has been Washington's fractured relationship with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has been in power since 2013.
While the Trump administration and its senior officials claim the military campaign is aimed at targeting drug-trafficking cartels and stopping shipments headed to the United States, a new report says former and current officials have privately discussed that the operation's real endgame is to replace Maduro.
