What is the relationship between the US and Venezuela?published at 21:44 GMT 10 December
Over the past few months, Trump has been ramping up pressure on Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro.
Reducing immigration has been a priority for Trump, and he blames Maduro for the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants into the US.
Trump has also focused on reducing the flow of illegal drugs – especially fentanyl and cocaine – into the US.
His administration has deployed 15,000 troops and a range of aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers and amphibious assault ships to the Caribbean Sea, arguing it is involved in a non-international armed conflict with alleged drug traffickers.
Since early September, US forces have carried out more than 20 strikes in international waters on boats alleged to have been carrying drugs, killing more than 80 people, and describing those on board as “narco terrorists”. But legal experts have said the strikes are unlawful.
Trump has also designated two Venezuelan criminal groups – Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles – as Foreign Terrorist Organisations and has alleged that the latter is led by Maduro himself.
Maduro has vehemently denied being a cartel leader and has accused the US of using its “war on drugs” as an excuse to try and depose him and get its hands on Venezuela’s vast reserves of oil.
