The US government appears on paper to be assembling parts for a regime change in Venezuela.
► The US military has been firing on what it says are drug-trafficking boats tied to Venezuela.
► President Donald Trump acknowledged authorizing covert CIA operations in the South American country.
► There’s a US Navy buildup in the Caribbean, but in a strange development, on Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the sudden departure of the commander overseeing them, Adm. Alvin Holsey.
► The Venezuelan opposition leader and recent Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has endorsed US military intervention, including during an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday.
“Why do you want your country’s future to be decided by US military intervention?” Amanpour asked.
Machado was barred from running for office by Venezuela’s longtime strongman leader Nicolás Maduro, whose brutal rule has caused a mass exodus of millions of emigrants from the country, including to the US. His 2024 reelection was widely dismissed as illegitimate.
Video Ad Feedback Venezuelan main opposition leader speaks out as Maduro cracks down on dissent 4:08 • Source: CNN Venezuelan main opposition leader speaks out as Maduro cracks down on dissent 4:08
“Regime
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