Trump’s Caribbean gamble edges Venezuela closer to conflict, ex-envoy warns
James Story, Washington’s former ambassador in Caracas, says a US attack once seen as unlikely now looks imminentWhen Donald Trump started sending warships, marines and reaper drones to the Caribbean...
By Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent · The Guardian World
James Story, Washington’s former ambassador in Caracas, says a US attack once seen as unlikely now looks imminent When Donald Trump started sending warships, marines and reaper drones to the Caribbean in August to torment Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro , the US’s former ambassador in Caracas, James Story, suspected the deployment was largely for show: a spectacular flexing of military muscle supposed to force the authoritarian leader from power. But in recent days, as the world’s largest aircraft carrier and its strike group powered towards the region and the US president continued to order deadly airstrikes on alleged narco-boats, the diplomat’s thinking has shifted. Continue reading...