"President Donald Trump has escalated threats against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in recent weeks, and reports now say the Trump administration is preparing for the days after a potential Maduro overthrow. What might happen in such a scenario? In November, Michael Crowley at The New York Times pursued this question by reminding readers that, during Trump's first term, U.S. officials were asked to run a war game to examine what Venezuela in a post-Maduro era would look like."
"According to Douglas Farah, a national security consultant who specializes in Latin America, the war game showed that the overthrow of Maduro would yield "chaos for a sustained period of time with no possibility of ending it." Crowley, at his end, adds that the results of the exercise note that "chaos and violence were likely to erupt within Venezuela, as military units, rival political factions and even jungle-based guerrilla groups jockeyed for control of the oil-rich country.""
"Currently, no such chaos has erupted in Venezuela despite at least 95 people having been killed by the United States military in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific as of December 16. Although the White House has repeatedly alleged that those targeted have been involved in smuggling narcotics into the U.S. mainland, the Trump administration has yet to produce any evidence to support its claims."
President Donald Trump has escalated threats against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the Trump administration is preparing for potential post‑Maduro contingencies. U.S. officials ran a war game that concluded an overthrow of Maduro would produce prolonged chaos, with military units, rival political factions and jungle-based guerrillas vying for control of the oil-rich country. Despite those projections, no widespread internal chaos has erupted; however, U.S. military actions in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific have killed at least 95 people as of December 16. The White House alleges those targeted were involved in narcotics smuggling but has not produced public evidence, and Trump warned airlines that Venezuelan airspace is effectively closed and claimed the U.S. seized a tanker off Venezuela's coast.
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