As unpredictable as United States President Donald Trump may sometimes be, the decision to strike Venezuela and seize its leader Nicolas Maduro on Saturday (Jan 3) was not taken on a whim. It was clearly calculated to send a message about America’s power and interests – and its ability and willingness to mobilise one to advance the other. The question is whether it was the only message that everyone else received. The writing was on the wall for Maduro: In his first term, Mr Trump had refused to recognise the legitimacy of the Maduro presidency. Since his return to the...