Trump’s Venezuela Gambit: Drug War Claims and the Fall of Nicolás Maduro
Donald Trump’s announcement that US forces had “captured” Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro early on Saturday morning marked a stunning escalation in a confrontation that has been building for months and, in many ways, years. Donald Trump's attack on Venezuela The operation, revealed by Mr Trump on his Truth Social platform, followed a prolonged period of rising tension between Washington and Caracas, driven by allegations of drug trafficking, narco-terrorism and systematic attacks on democratic institutions by the Maduro government. While the claim of Mr Maduro’s capture has shocked parts of the international community, the signs of an impending showdown had been visible for some time. A raid in the dead of night Reports of explosions and low-flying aircraft over Caracas in the early hours of Saturday were soon followed by Mr Trump’s declaration that the US had carried out a “large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader”, in conjunction with US law enforcement agencie...