After the attack on Venezuela, the American military will carry a negative image around the world
In the early hours of January 3, 2026, President Trump ordered a military attack on Venezuela. U.S. forces stormed the country’s largest military base, captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and flew them to New York to face criminal charges. The operation killed 80 people—soldiers and civilians. Trump did not ask Congress for permission. He did not get approval from the United Nations. This is one of the boldest acts of American imperialism in decades.
The couple appeared in a New York federal court, shackled at their ankles. Maduro, speaking through a translator, told Judge Alvin Hellerstein that he remained Venezuela’s president and had been kidnapped. His wife showed clear signs of injury, bruises on her face, a swollen forehead, and possibly broken ribs from the raid.
The attack breaks international law in multiple ways. The UN Charter forbids using military force against another country’s territory. The naval blockade that Trump ordered, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls a “quarantine”, is also illegal under UN rules. The UN Security Council never approved any of this. Calling this a “law enforcement operation” is ridiculous when you consider the military force used and the people killed.
The Real Reason: Oil and Power
The Trump administration says this is about fighting drug trafficking and bringing democracy to Venezuela. But Secretary of State Rubio accidentally revealed the truth during TV interviews. When reporters asked about holding elections in Venezuela, Rubio said elections were “premature.” He added that “the number one thing we care about is the safety, security, well-being and prosperity of the United States.”
The plan is simple and brutal. Trump announced the U.S. would “run” Venezuela and take up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil. American warships now block Venezuela’s ports, stopping the country from selling oil to anyone else. This cuts off the Venezuelan government’s main source of money. The blockade stays in place until Venezuela hands over its oil industry to American companies on America’s terms.
Rubio made this crystal clear: “Why does China need their oil? Why does Russia need their oil? They’re not even in this continent. This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live, and we’re not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be a base of operation for adversaries.”
This invasion brings back memories of a dark period when the United States treated Latin America like its personal property. Trump himself said this operation updates the Monroe Doctrine, an 1823 policy that claimed the Western Hemisphere belonged to America. The United States has a long, shameful history in Latin America. In 1954, the CIA helped overthrow Guatemala’s elected president. In 1973, the U.S. supported the military coup that killed Chile’s President Salvador Allende. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration secretly funded right-wing militants in Nicaragua. In 2002, the Bush administration backed a failed coup against Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez.
Latin American leaders remember this history. That’s why they reacted with alarm to Trump’s invasion. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke out against intervention in other countries, saying the Americas “do not belong” to any single power. Colombian President Gustavo Petro warned that similar U.S. military strikes in his country would kill children.
What’s even scarier is how Trump is using the Venezuela attack to threaten other countries. He renewed his threat to take over Greenland, which belongs to Denmark, a U.S. ally. When reporters asked if he would use military force to seize Greenland like he did in Venezuela, Trump refused to rule it out. Rubio hinted that Cuba might be next, saying the Cuban government is “in a lot of trouble.” Representative Mario Díaz-Balart declared that the governments of Cuba and Nicaragua “will not survive” the Trump administration.
The message is clear: any government that refuses to obey American demands might face a military attack, no matter what international law says.
Democrats Offer Weak Opposition
What makes this situation worse is that the Democratic Party isn’t really fighting back. Some Democrats complained about procedural issues, saying Trump should have asked Congress first, but they mostly agree with his reasons for attacking.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called Maduro an “illegitimate dictator” but only complained that Trump launched the war “without a credible plan for what comes next.” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said “Maduro was a bad guy and our military is absolutely incredible.” He accepted Trump’s excuse for the attack and only criticised him for not properly notifying Congress.
This shows an uncomfortable truth: both Republicans and Democrats support military invasions when they think it helps American interests. Working people can’t count on either major party to oppose these wars.
Dangerous New Reality
Since January 3, this conflict has gotten worse. American warships surround Venezuelan ports. The president of a sovereign nation sits in a Brooklyn jail cell. The Trump administration openly talks about killing foreign leaders, taking over other countries’ territory, and launching more military strikes around the world.
Senator Tom Cotton bragged: “Where were they when Delta Force went in and got Nicolás Maduro? They were nowhere to be found... That’s a reminder that the United States is still the world’s dominant superpower.” This is empire-building, raw military power with no concern for international law or morality. The Trump administration believes military force is a perfectly acceptable way to get what America wants, regardless of the consequences for world peace or human lives.
Some people who opposed Maduro’s authoritarian government may be happy he’s captured. But the way America removed him will only make the region less stable. Venezuela now faces an uncertain future, with Washington claiming it will “run” the country. A long conflict, a humanitarian disaster, and widespread instability all seem likely. Trump’s actions attack the basic rules that have governed the world since World War II, rules that say countries should respect each other’s independence and not invade each other. By launching an unauthorised military operation, kidnapping a head of state, blocking a country’s ports, and openly planning to steal its natural resources, the United States has crossed a line.
History will remember this moment. American military power was not used to defend democracy or protect human rights. After attacking Venezuela, Trump is now threatening Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and openly planning to take over Greenland. Military might was used to grab economic advantages and assert political dominance. The lesson is frightening: the strongest country makes the rules, international law means nothing, and any nation that won’t submit to American demands might face military attack.
Ordinary people must fight back, citizens in the United States, Venezuela, and around the world who understand that imperialism threatens peace and justice everywhere, no matter which country does it. The international community must respond strongly to protect the idea that all nations, large and small, have rights that must be respected.
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