Reports in the US media, together with officials in Washington, say that one of the most intricate military interventions ever conducted by the US in several decades was just undertaken: the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a very dangerous raid in Venezuela. The military mission consisted of thorough intelligence work, cyberattacks, overwhelming aerial support, as well as a precise ground assault undertaken by US elite forces.
The attack, however, did not begin on the night of the seizing of Maduro. According to US officials, the operation began about four months before with what they refer to as “phase one shaping ops.” In August, it was reported that the CIA carried out covert insertion teams in Venezuela to survey Maduro’s patterns to ascertain his pattern of life.
Through stealth drones and intelligence gathered from sources in Maduro’s camp, his whereabouts were narrowed down to the Fort Tiuna Military Complex located south of Caracas. This fortified base, Venezuelan equivalent of the Pentagon, lies deep in the mountainous terrain and is protected by a fortress of elite troops.
From restraint to coercion
The Monroe Doctrine was not on the defensive for very long either. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt formulated the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine with the contention that Washington possessed the right of intervention in Latin America in order to either prevent instability or European intervention.
However, Trump has continued to move further on his own interpretation of that policy, speaking about “upgrading” that policy, which he has even started to call “The Donroe Doctrine.” This approach embraces a series of threats about seizing the Panama Canal using force, making Canada the 51st state in the US, even using military force in Greenland, just for starters. His tariffs in relation to those countries are as broad as they are threatening, including tariffs on trade agreements that Trump entered into during the first term of his presidency.
Most Alarmingly, the US has perpetrated deadly attacks upon vessels that it suspected of drug smuggling, even in international waters, and has made threats of force against nations that it believes are responsibile for drugs smuggled into the US.
The test case of Venezuela
Venezuela is perhaps the country that has suffered most from this situation. The US has escalated its military presence in the Caribbean, seized oil tankers, and allegedly attacked Venezuela with drones. Donald Trump put a bounty of $50m on Nicolás Maduro and apparently has demanded his resignation.
Officially, this is described in the framework of the “war on drugs.” But Venezuela neither produces nor is it a transit state through which there is a transit route to a key destination. Even less merit does the claim have in light of the recent pardon given by Trump to former president Juan Orlando Hernández of Honduras, who had been convicted for serious charges regarding the traffic of drugs.
Influence and the Spheres of Power
China’s surge in trading and infrastructure links all over Latin America has left the US government nervous. China has become the continent’s foremost trading partner, but the US has remained its biggest foreign investor. Trump’s latest national security strategy declares that the US would “reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine” in an effort to check China and reaffirm its supremacy in the continent. It athere less to cooperation than it does domination.
Some governments have submitted to pressure to comply. Mexico has moved cautiously towards Washington in relation to trade and security challenges. Nayib Bukele’s dictatorial rule in El Salvador has made him an asset instead of a liability despite human rights violations.
However, in other regions around the world, the tactics that Trump used have had the opposite effect. In the Brazilian case for example, the US tactics to halt the judicial process against President Jair Bolsonaro for trying to annul the presidential election results of 2022 have been ineffective. President Bolsonaro has been sentenced. However, the popularity of
The unpredictability of the US has, in some instances, encouraged countries to move closer to China.
ALSO READ: Why Trump bombed Venezuela: regime change, China, and oil explained
THE COSTS OF A REVIVED DOCTRINE
A military strike in Venezuela would provoke a backlash in the region and a spillover of refugees into the US itself, which would run counter to Trump’s own immigration policies. More broadly, international partners in Latin America, Europe, and Asia are living in fear of US posturing that marries bluster with a lack of global engagement.
It’s hard to think that a choice between the US and China would be an option for very many countries. The reality now is that many countries are being forced
“The Monroe Doctrine was born during the age of empires.” It was brought back to life during the 21st century and may well create the same levels of resentment and blowback as previous instances of US intervention when it comes to Trump and his efforts to use his power and influence for good around the world—the likely price to pay being a half century of greater defiance of Washington’s leadership within the Americas.
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