Under pressure from Trump, Venezuela’s new president holds a trump card

“Trump is suggesting that Venezuela is now a U.S. protectorate and therefore she’s doing what the U.S. president wants,” said Christopher Sabatini, senior fellow on Latin America at Chatham House. “She’s also under investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration – there’s no conviction, no bounty on her, no indictment, but the threat is ever-present. The threat is, ‘We’ve got your stuff.'” The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) did not comment when contacted by the BBC.