Running for president in 2024, Donald Trump vowed to avoid costly, often disastrous overseas US military interventions like Iraq and Afghanistan. This was a key plank in his isolationist “America first” platform. Yet within months of his inauguration, US forces were bombing Yemen and Iran. Looking south, Trump threatened to seize the Panama canal. Now, the Pentagon is gearing up for attacks on “terrorist” drug cartels deep inside Colombia and Mexico. Of most immediate concern is a possible renewed White House effort to forcibly impose regime change on Venezuela.
Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s hard-left authoritarian president, believes this effort is already under way. He says the US is waging “undeclared war” on his country after several deadly strikes on Venezuelan vessels in international waters – Trump shared a video of the latest attack, which killed four people, on his social media last Friday. The president also notified Congress last week that the US is engaged in “armed conflict” with drug cartels. He claims, without providing evidence, that the targeted boats were carrying US-bound illegal narcotics – and that Maduro is responsible. He has placed a $50m bounty on Maduro’s head.
