But they also mark an unprecedented moment as the first direct US military attack on a South American country. At a press conference after Maduro’s capture, Donald Trump said that “American dominance in the western hemisphere will never be questioned again”. Almost every country in the region has experienced some form of US intervention, overt or covert, in the past decades. CubaView image in fullscreen Col Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders after capturing Kettle Hill in Cuba in July 1898. BrazilView image in fullscreen Brazil’s then president João Goulart (right) receives full military honours as he arrives for talks with President Kennedy.

Source: The Guardian January 04, 2026 20:30 UTC