“The Trump administration’s strikes on Venezuela and capture of President Nicolas Maduro represent a major victory for foreign policy hawks in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth, who have advocated for an increase in pressure against Venezuela over the last few months in the name of ousting a leader they decried as an authoritarian drug trafficker,” Politico reports.
“It’s a far cry from his first administration, when Trump floated the idea of invading Venezuela but was talked down by then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, then-Defense Secretary James Mattis, and then-national security adviser H.R. McMaster.”
