Top Obama-era Latin American expert warns of ‘disastrous’ US intervention in Venezuela

US military buildup and attack on alleged narco boat spark fears of protracted guerrilla war in South America

Trump’s Venezuela gunboat diplomacy: sabre-rattling or prelude to invasion?

The White House’s former top Latin America official has said he fears the US could stumble into a protracted guerrilla war in Venezuela after Donald Trump ordered a military strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea, killing 11 alleged drug traffickers.

Tuesday’s controversial strike off the Venezuelan coast – which was reportedly carried out by an attack helicopter or Reaper drone – came after the US president ordered a major naval deployment to the region, ostensibly to combat South American drug traffickers.