WASHINGTON, October 29. /TASS/. The US administration’s attempts to force a regime change in Venezuela risk creating a conflict hotspot comparable to the Middle East right on the country's doorstep, Washington’s Cato Institute experts Justin Logan and Brandan Buck stated in a piece for The American Conservative.

"If the White House succeeds in forcing a regime change in Venezuela, it risks replicating the endless wars and swamp of the Middle East, this time in its own hemisphere," the authors of the article believe. They stated that the potential scale of Washington’s pressure on Caracas could mirror the 2011 intervention in Libya, which led to "chaos, civil war, and open-air slave markets."

The analysts note that the preconditions for a violent regime change are largely absent in Venezuela. Historically, successful US operations in the region required the deployment of large numbers of troops, collaboration with local factions, and a gradual approach to intervention. "None of these conditions exist in Venezuela, a country twice Iraq’s size with a regime currently backed by its military," the article states.

The authors urge US President Donald Trump to abandon policies that could create "another Libya in the Western Hemisphere," ignore "hawkish voices" in his administration, and recall the promises he made during his second inauguration, when the American leader pledged to be remembered as a peacemaker who would not drag the United States into new wars.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly said the country faces the most serious threat of invasion by the United States in a century. Washington, in turn, has declared Caracas isn’t doing enough to combat drug trafficking. The US Navy has deployed eight ships, including one nuclear submarine, and 10,000 troops to the Caribbean, where it has destroyed at least nine speedboats in international waters, detaining their occupants, who were accused without proof of smuggling drugs from Venezuela.

The New York Times reported that Trump instructed his administration to halt all diplomatic efforts aimed at easing tensions. US media outlets also indicate that potential strikes against what they label as Venezuelan drug cartel sites could be launched within weeks.