Venezuela is at "maximum preparedness" and ready to respond to any possible U.S. military overture, the country's president, Nicolás Maduro, said on Monday. But after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. had attacked a vessel close to Venezuela on Tuesday and pointed the finger squarely at Maduro, the big question remains: Would the U.S. actually carry out large-scale attacks on the Latin American country, or even invade?

The answer is likely to be no. Experts are skeptical that an ongoing U.S. military buildup in the southern Caribbean and nearby waters is the first steps to an invasion. But the deployment of—among others—three destroyers, at least one submarine and an amphibious ready group (ARG) filled with Marines is a further deterioration in the poor relationship between Wa

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