Who’s in charge of Venezuela and what happens next?

Maduro rose to prominence under the leadership of left-wing President Hugo Chávez, succeeding him as president in 2013.

Maduro has been at odds with Trump over the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants in the US and the movement of drugs into the US, in particular fentanyl and cocaine.

But counter-narcotic experts say Venezuela mainly acts as a country through which drugs produced elsewhere are smuggled, while fentanyl is mainly produced in Mexico and typically enters the US via their shared land border.

Trump has designated two Venezuelan drug gangs, Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles, as Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTOs) and has alleged that the latter was led by Maduro himself.

Maduro has vehemently denied being a cartel leader and has accused the US of using its “war on drugs” as an excuse to try to depose him and get its hands on Venezuela’s oil. Continue reading…