President Donald Trump’s administration has recently adopted the idea of the “Donroe Doctrine,” taking inspiration from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, which claims that Europe and the world must respect the Western Hemisphere as America’s domain. Trump has used this incredibly flawed rhetoric to push his agenda of taking more territory in the Americas and dismantling any government that opposes him and his ideology.
On Jan. 3, 2026, Trump green-lit “Operation Absolute Resolve,” which saw U.S. special forces capture Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s president. Maduro has been brought to the U.S., where he will stand trial for crimes he was accused of in 2020, which include narco-terrorism and weapons charges.
Trump has also been eyeing Greenland as of recently, which seems to be motivated by the island’s key geographical location and natural resources. He claimed the U.S. “needs Greenland,” citing national security as the reason why. He has also threatened Colombia and Mexico, saying they could be next after Venezuela. This kind of shameless desire to control other nations is the kind of behavior that would be expected from a dictator. Ideology like this is immensely threatening to America’s relationship with its neighbors, trade partners and international allies.
The Trump administration’s capture of Maduro, as well as its actions against Venezuelan boats in recent months, are clear violations of international law, as the UN largely prohibits the use of military force in other nations and international waters. According to article 5 of the UN charter, violation of UN rules can be grounds for suspending the rights and privileges that UN member nations enjoy. Trump’s actions endanger the U.S. to that possibility.
Additionally, Trump’s attacks on Venezuelan boats have been based solely on the suspicion that the boats are being used to traffic drugs, making these attacks a direct violation of the presumption of innocence that America bases its justice system on.
Trump also chose to carry out the operation without the approval of Congress. Whether or not this is permitted by national law is seemingly unclear. Congress has the sole authority to approve acts of war, but whether or not this operation fits the description of an act of war has not been agreed upon. This is not a new issue, as Congress has not officially declared war since 1941, and the U.S. has been involved in numerous armed conflicts since then. However, even in the case that this operation was permitted under national law, the use of the military to forcibly “extract” another nation’s leader is far out of bounds for a president’s use of power. Our nation cannot allow a precedent to be set where any president can send troops into another nation’s capital to kidnap their president and kill over 80 people on the way out.
Following Maduro’s arrest, Trump claimed that the U.S. would be in charge of Venezuela, saying they would “run the country” until they could safely transfer power. However, despite Trump’s desire for a regime change, Maduro’s government is still in charge as of now. Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s vice president and an avid supporter of his policies, has been elevated to acting president. Trump has since made threats towards Rodríguez, saying she might suffer a fate even worse than Maduro’s if she does not obey his will. This kind of manipulation and threat-making is just another immoral and unjust way for him to impose on the sovereignty of our neighbors, effectively trying to bully them into submission to U.S. dominance.
Another clear motivation for Maduro’s arrest is Trump’s desire for Venezuelan oil. By removing Maduro, who heavily restricted U.S. access to Venezuela’s oil industry, he is giving U.S. oil companies access to nearly 303 billion barrels worth of oil reserves. Trump claims that by reopening the Venezuelan oil market, he will give U.S. oil conglomerates the chance to invest to improve the Venezuelan oil industry itself, which has struggled in recent years in spite of its large reserves. While this may sound good in theory, it likely will not play out this way, as this plan relies on the good-will of oil companies and their readiness to invest over $100 billion. In reality, the relationship Trump is creating is not one of mutual benefit. As in most situations where a nation exploits another for economic gain, the U.S.’s involvement with Venezuela will likely end with Venezuela being economically and politically reliant on the U.S. With this will come the usual symptoms of geopolitical interference, including but not limited to poverty, conflict and a weakened democracy.
The worst part about this situation is that America has seen firsthand how bad it can get when the government tries to topple a regime and run a foreign country themselves. In 2001, the US military was deployed to Afghanistan to topple the Taliban and find the orchestrators of 9/11. Two years later, soldiers were sent to Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime and find weapons of mass destruction. Like Venezuela, Iraq was an oil rich nation that had largely blocked out the U.S. at the time. After the longest war in U.S. history, in which 2,354 soldiers lost their lives, Afghanistan is once again run by the Taliban. In Iraq, another 4,431 soldiers were killed, and no weapons of mass destruction were ever found. Iraq’s oil industry is now largely controlled by private U.S. companies, but this control came at the cost of stirring up an entire region all the way across the world. The only real winners in Iraq were American oil companies, and if Trump continues this course of action in Venezuela, the same could be true there too.
While the U.S. has not waged full war on Venezuela yet, there is no telling where this conflict could end, especially with Trump’s constant escalation. However, it is clear Trump has not learned from history. He has failed to recognize the glaring flaws in the idea of his Donroe Doctrine. He has failed to see how meddling in another nation’s affairs is a battle in which only the few members of the American elite win. Instead, he has instead made it seem like a president can get away with constantly playing the aggressor and forcing other nations to give in to their demands.
