Trump’s new focus on Venezuelan oil reinforces claim action was never about ‘war on drugs’

US president claims US will take back oil stolen from it by Venezuela, but experts say no legal claim to natural reserves existsVenezuela crisis – latest updatesHailing the US military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro as spectacular, extraordinary, and “an assault not seen since World War II”, Donald Trump surprised many by making Venezuela’s oil the central focus of his hour-long press conference on Saturday.The US president made little mention of the “war on drugs” that for months had been his main justification for the military build-up and the strikes on boats that have killed 116 people, instead referring to oil more than a dozen times, even when questions made no reference to it. Continue reading...