Strike on Venezuelan boat ‘completely outside the norms of traditional drug interdiction of US govt’

Is the Trump administration pursuing regime change in Venezuela? Dr. Christopher Sabatini, Senior Fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, doesn’t mince words. In this interview, he questions the logic behind the deployment of eight ships and 4,500 personnel, including 2,200 Marines, to the Venezuelan coast. “There is no reason to send that kind of force just to take out tiny little boats of unknown providence,” he says, calling the operation “simply ridiculous.” According to Dr. Sabatini, this isn’t about drug interdiction or maritime security, it’s about psychological pressure. “The Trump administration is trying to scare Maduro and his inner circle into defecting,” he argues, “and to create a pathway toward regime change.”