>>28869
Drug war put a target on Maduro's back

While recent White House rhetoric has focused on Venezuela's alleged role in trafficking drugs into the United States, it is fair to say personal tensions between the two presidents have also been escalating for close to a decade now.

Mr Maduro rose to power in 2013 following the sudden death of Venezuela's first socialist president, former military lieutenant colonel Hugo Chavez, and led the country through years of political turbulence.

In 2017, the first Trump administration imposed sanctions on Venezuelan oil, amid claims of a humanitarian crisis unfolding under Mr Maduro's leadership.