Deadly strikes carried out by US forces on boats in the Caribbean Sea have caused tensions between the United States and Venezuela to escalate considerably. The Americans targeted vessels they say were carrying drugs, and which President Donald Trump said departed from the South American country en route to the US. The incidents, together with a significant deployment of US military hardware to the region, has ramped up the pressure on Venezuela's leader,
Nicolás Maduro, and even raised suspicions that Washington is attempting to topple the regime in Caracas. So, what exactly happened off the coast of Venezuela, and is the US really thinking about regime change?
Click through for an account of the incidents and a brief history of the often fraught relationship between the United States and Venezuela.