Why is the White House focused on Venezuela?

According to Isna, the Washington Times newspaper wrote with this introduction: This strategy could include direct US military attacks on Venezuela itself, in addition to the continued targeting of boats allegedly carrying drugs, or the seizure of more Venezuelan tankers that move illegal oil.

Almost a year into his presidency, Trump sees Venezuela as one of the most important pieces in a risky global chess game. His administration appears to be operating on the theory that Venezuela, through a series of military and geopolitical actions, can be transformed from a hostile country into a democracy-friendly country with significant reserves of gold, minerals and heavy crude oil.

At the same time, experts say Trump wants to achieve a personal goal that he failed to achieve in his first term, namely to topple Nicolás Maduro.

Christopher Sabatini, senior Latin America researcher at London-based think tank Chatham House, said: “He feels the work is unfinished.”

Sabatini said key figures within the administration, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, appeared to have convinced Trump that Maduro’s administration was in the weakest possible shape. They suggest that things have changed since Trump’s first term, when a failed attempt to officially recognize Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate leader became something of a foreign policy embarrassment for the president.

The American newspaper added: This fact, along with Trump’s deep desire to suppress illegal immigration and what he considers to be the flow of drugs from Latin America to the United States, has caused Venezuela to be at the center of the Washington government’s foreign policy.

The Washington Times described it as problematic, pointing out that Trump did not stick to the drug problem alone in his approach and relied on the “Maduro must go” policy, and wrote that this is because if he does not carry out regime change in Venezuela, it will make him look weak.

“This is the worst possible signal you can send to Russia, China and Iran,” Sabantini stressed.

Meanwhile, the Washington government has shown no sign of backing down from its aggressive approach. US forces on Tuesday attacked another boat in the area it said was suspected of drug trafficking, killing eight people. So far, at least 25 attacks of this type have been carried out, as a result of which at least 95 people have been killed with the claim of “drug terrorists”.

U.S. forces also seized the Venezuelan crude oil tanker Skipper last week, which the Justice Department alleged was being used as part of a clandestine oil transportation network supporting Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Trump has also said that this military campaign could soon be extended to land targets in Venezuela.

Meanwhile, key lawmakers say that the government has so far failed to provide a clear and convincing reason for the need for more military intervention in Venezuela, and has not even provided sufficient documents to prove that the boats are smugglers.

The Washington Times went on to point out that behind the scenes, part of this campaign could be focused on severing Venezuela’s deepening ties with Russia, the country’s main arms supplier, and China, which has invested billions of dollars in Venezuela and is counting on Venezuela’s huge reserves of resources, including oil.

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