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THE image of a blindfolded and handcuffed Nicolás Maduro being taken to a prison in New York presented the ugly face of Trumpian imperialism. It is not the first time that the US, in pursuit of regime change, has invaded a sovereign state, but the abduction of the Venezuelan president and his wife is the most brazen instance of imperialistic aggression in recent history.
The military action against Venezuela has exposed President Donald Trump, who has, ironically, attempted to present himself as a ‘man of peace’ in his quest for the Nobel Peace Prize. It is a violation of international law and demonstrates the unravelling of an already collapsing global order or whatever is left of it.
Trump has made it clear that America will continue to control the oil-rich country and its resources. “We are going to have a presence in Venezuela as it pertains to oil,” Trump said, asserting America’s ‘right’ to the country’s oil.
After Maduro’s removal by force, the American president called a meeting of top American companies to discuss the takeover of Venezuela’s oil fields. It is apparent that America’s blatant action in Venezuela had nothing to do with sending drugs and criminals to America, as Trump claimed, but rather to capture oil and rich resources.
The US president has pushed the world into extremely dangerous territory.
The American military action is hardly a surprise. Trump had increased pressure on Venezuela for the past several months. American air force jets had been bombing alleged drug boats, and killed over 100 people, without providing much evidence to substantiate their claims, in a blatant violation of international law. American forces also intercepted tankers carrying oil from Venezuela. The Trump administration has declared that Maduro was overseeing a “narco-terrorist” organisation. The January invasion was very well planned.
Maduro has also been accused by the Trump administration of “Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States”. These charges do not justify the invasion and abduction of a head of state. They are just a cover-up for America’s unlawful military action.
Many analysts believe that even Trump is not serious about the drug charge. For instance, media reports have pointed out that other individuals similarly charged with drug trafficking have received a pardon — among them a Honduran former president extradited to the US.
America has frequently attempted regime change in South American countries to protect its oil and other companies and prevent the governments of these states from adopting an independent foreign policy trajectory. In fact, American administrations had tried to remove the left-leaning nationalist administrations of Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro for years, but they failed.
The US first imposed sanctions against Venezuela during the era of Hugo Chávez. Following the Venezuelan president’s death in 2013, the administration of Barack Obama declared Venezuela a “national security threat” and imposed sanctions on certain Venezuelan officials for corruption and rights violations. President Trump’s first administration also imposed sanctions, blocking Venezuela’s oil exports. Sanctions and other factors have crippled the country’s economy and the growing unrest there has seen America capitalising on the situation to attempt regime change. President Joe Biden, for instance, had earlier called an opposition leader the “true winner” of a disputed presidential poll.
The latest development in the Venezuela-US timeline is the use of brute force by the Trump administration, which clearly believes that the US is not subject to any international law and has extraordinary powers to raid a country in the dead of night and kidnap its leader, without facing any censure, let alone consequences. Shortly after the operation, Trump stated at a press conference, “We are reasserting American power.”
What is truly disgusting is the criminal silence and in some cases, the tacit support by some countries for America’s military intervention in Venezuela. The European countries, while calling for international law and the UN Charter to be upheld, has also said that Maduro lacked “the legitimacy of a democratically elected president”.
Trump has threatened Colombia and Cuba with similar action. “America can project our will anywhere, any time,” declared defence chief Pete Hegseth with the imperialistic arrogance that has become the hallmark of the Trump administration. The maverick American president appears emboldened by his military success. Soon after raiding Venezuela, Trump, when asked whether the US would conduct an operation against Colombia, said that it “sounds good to me”. He also declared that Cuba was not worth invading because “it’s ready to fall”.
Trump believes the US has the right to intervene in any country in the Western Hemisphere and has referred to the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, according to which the Americas were off limits to the European powers, as the ‘Donroe doctrine’ in a reference to himself. What he forgets is that the world has changed and such brazen use of force will have serious consequences for America and world peace.
Trump’s imperialistic ambitions go even further. He has once again claimed that Greenland needed to be under American control. He has appointed a special US envoy for Greenland, ignoring the Danish government’s protest. In the past, he has threatened to annex Canada as the 51st state of America. Besides, he has once again threatened to militarily intervene in Iran to ‘protect’ anti-government protesters. Last year, the US had joined Israel in bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Washington has encouraged Israel’s continued aggression in Gaza in violation of the ceasefire. Unfortunately, Pakistan and the Arab countries have closed their eyes to Trump’s imperialist designs. Pakistan must review its commitment to joining the international peace force in Gaza led by Trump. It’s a trap to crush the Palestinian resistance.
Trump has pushed the world into extremely dangerous territory. He appears to have forgotten the lessons of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. America will regret its latest imperialist aggression.
The writer is an author and journalist.
X: @hidhussain
Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2026
