Is the US eyeing its next Latin American target?

The United States has 8 warships successful the Caribbean adjacent Venezuela and 10 F-35 jets successful Puerto Rico. It is the biggest unit successful the portion since 1994, erstwhile the US helped oust a subject authorities successful Haiti. So, galore wonder: Will Venezuela, location to the largest proven lipid reserves successful the world, beryllium next?

Among them, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a antheral who hears a menace erstwhile US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls him a "fugitive from American justice".

Historians accidental this benignant of happening is not new. From 1898 to 1994, the US successfully ousted a Latin American authorities astatine slightest 41 times. While US information interests whitethorn person often been cited arsenic justification, economical interests often prevailed.

For example, the US waged the alleged Banana Wars from 1898 to 1934 to enactment oregon instal governments aligned with its economical plans, which favoured US firms similar the United Fruit Company. Honduras, Nicaragua, Cuba, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Haiti were each affected.

At times, though, US efforts to depose a left-wing oregon communist authorities fell short. Notably, the Bay of Pigs invasion, erstwhile the US botched the overthrow of Cuban person Fidel Castro successful 1961.

But that did not halt Operation Brother Sam, the US’s program to enactment the Brazilian military’s coup successful 1964. Brazil spent the adjacent 21 years nether a subject dictatorship.

With the Cold War heating up, the CIA tried to destabilise Salvador Allende’s socialist authorities successful Chile by backing protests and the opposition. On September 11, 1973, Chilean General Augusto Pinochet overthrew Allende successful a coup.

These days, the US seems focused connected Venezuela, resurrecting an indictment for cause trafficking brought against Maduro successful 2020, during President Donald Trump’s archetypal term. Maduro denies the charges.

On October 2, Trump reportedly ended talks with Venezuela aimed successful portion astatine granting the US entree to Venezuelan oil. The determination is seen arsenic favouring Rubio’s hardline attack and raising the spectre of a subject escalation. To date, the US has bombed astatine slightest 4 alleged Venezuelan cause boats, sidesplitting astatine slightest 21 people. As the standoff festers, Venezuelans are near to wonder: Will we beryllium next?