In recent weeks, the Trump administration has launched military strikes against more than a dozen boats off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia, killing more than 60 people.
The administration claims it is defending the United States from what it says are drug-trafficking vessels. However, Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro has accused the US of “murdering” its citizens and threatening its sovereignty.
US interference in Latin America is hardly new. In fact, the US has been meddling in the affairs of its southern neighbours from the time many Latin American nations gained independence from European powers in the 1820s.
