Oct. Cubans rallied for Venezuela against U.S. aggression, Bolivia elected its first centrist president in 20 years and Pope Leo XIV canonized Venezuela's “doctor of the poor” before tens of thousands of people.

The Trump administration has surged warships, fighter jets and troops to the Caribbean for drug interdiction. Many see the ultimate goal as toppling Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Experts call it "21st-century gunboat diplomacy" as U.S. positions strike-capable forces in Caribbean amid tensions with Maduro regime and cartels.

U.S. strikes against Venezuela in international waters are a dangerous escalation and amount to "extrajudicial executions," a group of independent United Nations experts said on Tuesday.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Colombian-born Ohio Republican, outlines "Trump doctrine" for Latin America amid escalating tensions over U.S. military strikes on drug vessels.