Venezuela is in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump and his newly renamed Department of War. The oil-rich South American nation has been at the receiving end of withering US sanctions since 2015. But Trump will now settle for nothing short of regime change. And so, President Nicolas Maduro must go.

Trump publicly hinted at a US military invasion of the South American country during his first presidency in August 2017. In his second term, the diplomatic rhetoric has intensified into what signals imminent military action.

TRUMP's MANOEUVRES NEAR VENEZUELA

In August, Trump authorised the doubling of the bounty on Maduro to $50 million, as part of his regime's "maximum pressure" campaign. This month, Trump authorised the CIA to begin covert operations inside Venezuela, deployed

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