Tensions are escalating between Washington and Caracas as the Trump administration has increasingly signaled it could use military means to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.
US President Donald Trump has not explicitly said he is trying to overthrow Maduro. However, it would not be the first time Trump or members of his cabinet have sought to see a change in leadership in Caracas.
During his first term, Trump recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the president of Venezuela after Maduro was inaugurated for a second term that the US, dozens of other countries, and the Venezuelan opposition had decried as illegitimate.
The January 2019 recognition set off a rapid diplomatic breakdown between Washington and Caracas.
Maduro, accusing the US of backing a coup, cut diplomatic ties with the administration, closed Venezuela’s embassy and all of its consulates in the United States, and issued an ultimatum for US personnel to leave Venezuela. Hours later, the US State Department ordered all of its non-emergency diplomats out of the country. Less than two months later, the US withdrew the rest of its diplomats and suspended operations at its embassy in Caracas.
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