Empire state Long history of acting against near neighbours

The seizure of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela follows a long history of US interventions in South and Central America as well as in the Caribbean over the past two centuries.

- Tiago Rogero

It is unprecedented, however, as the first direct attack by the US military on a South American country.

Afterwards, Donald Trump said that "American dominance in the western hemisphere will never be questioned again".

But since the mid-19th century, the US has intervened in the affairs of its continental neighbours, with invasions, occupations and -in the case most akin to the current situation - the 1989 invasion of Panama and subsequent capture of its dictator Manuel Noriega.

Covert US action helped usher in military dictatorships in countries such as Brazil, Chile and Argentina, but its overt military strikes have historically been confined to closer neighbours in Central America and the Caribbean.

Maurício Santoro, a professor of international relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro said the US attacking a South American state was "a major shift in foreign and defence policy... made explicit in the national security strategy published a few weeks ago by the Trump administration".

That document called for an "expansion" of the US military presence in the region, described as a "Trump corollary" to the Monroe doctrine - the "America for Americans" foreign policy set out in 1823 by President James Monroe and later used to justify US-backed coups in South and Central America.