‘Every reason’ to expect attacks inside Venezuela, expert warns as US escalates operations

The Pentagon has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to counter what it claims are drug-trafficking organisations in Latin America, escalating a military build-up that has fuelled fears of conflict. Earlier, the US targeted boats in international waters, killing those on board. Cynthia J. Arnson, Director of the Latin American Programme at the Wilson Centre, said there is “very little evidence” the vessels were involved in drug trafficking, calling the legality of the strikes questionable. She added that the operation appears to be “far beyond a counter–drug-trafficking operation” and warned: “There is, I think, every reason to believe or expect that there will be attacks inside Venezuelan territory aimed at deposing the current dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro.”