Donald Trump aims to topple Venezuela’s leader with military build-up
Objective of US mission has shifted from fighting drug traffickers to regime change
Objective of US mission has shifted from fighting drug traffickers to regime change

US president upends his own foreign policy but critics fear a dangerous power vacuum in Caracas

President says oil majors poised to develop South American country’s energy reserves

Nicolás Maduro uses US action to deploy paramilitaries and step up arrests of suspected dissidents

The US president has a growing appetite for military adventure

Washington has built its transition plans around vice-president Delcy Rodríguez, a canny operator close to the oil industry

Regime forces focus not on defence but on quashing dissent, analysts and opposition figures say