The United States has deployed three warships and 4,000 Marines to the Caribbean, escalating tensions with Venezuela in the largest U.S. military move in the region since the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Trump administration placed a $50 million bounty on President Nicolas Maduro, calling his government a “narco-terror cartel,” while Venezuela mobilized 4.5 million militiamen in response. Regional allies including Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Brazil denounced Washington’s actions, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro warning that an invasion of Venezuela could unleash “another Syria.” The standoff risks turning Latin America into the latest flashpoint in an increasingly fragmented and volatile world order.