Venezuela and the Return of Raw Power in American Foreign Policy

The recent US attack on Venezuela threatens global peace by sheer violation of international norms.

Abbas Hashemite

Operation Absolute Resolve and the Collapse of International Norms

In a stunning move, the US troops captured the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a sheer and flagrant violation of international norms on January 3, 2026. The news of President Maduro’s abduction was confirmed by US President Donald Trump. He praised the US military operation, known as “Absolute Resolve,” in Venezuela by stating that it was one of the “most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history.” According to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, the operation was carefully rehearsed for months. He further stated, “The weather broke just enough, clearing a path that only the most skilled aviators in the world could move through.”

International norms are no longer valid in the international system, and the “Might is Right” approach now rules the world.

The relations between the US and Venezuela were intensified for months. The Trump administration repeatedly threatened the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro. It claimed that he was directly involved in smuggling narcotics in the United States, without providing any evidence. The Trump administration had also offered a reward of $50 million for information leading to the Venezuelan president’s arrest. The United States had also been targeting the Venezuelan vessels in international waters, violating international maritime law and humanitarian law, accusing them of drug trafficking. However, the Trump administration has not provided any evidence of either of these ships’ involvement in drug trafficking, raising global concerns about international rules and norms.

Oil, Power, and the Revival of American Interventionism

The United States has a reputation for intervening in various countries through covert and overt operations. In the past few decades, the United States has captured and ousted different international leaders from power, including the de facto leader of Panama, Manuel Noriega, and the former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein. However, in the previous instances, the US administration stated that its primary objective was to promote democracy in these countries. In contrast, for the very first time, the contemporary US government has stated that it seeks to permanently take control of Venezuela’s oil sales. While speaking at an energy summit, the US energy secretary, Chris Wright, stated, “We’re going to market the crude coming out of Venezuela, first this backed up stored oil, and then indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace.” In another violation of international norms, the United States has seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic, jeopardizing global peace.

Venezuela has enormous oil reserves, as well as other minerals and natural gas. The country hosts the largest proven oil reserves in the world. As per estimates, the value of Venezuela’s oil reserves is equal to that of the Magnificent Seven. The United States could pay around 50 percent of its $38 trillion debt through Venezuela’s natural resources. Moreover, the US control over these resources empowers the country to fund more international interventions and threatens its international competitors. However, oil was not the sole reason for the ouster and abduction of the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. President Trump sought to reconstruct the US’s hard image over the globe through this operation.

From Venezuela to the World: The Return of Might-Is-Right Politics

The abduction of President Nicolas Maduro has further emboldened the Trump administration. Since the end of the operation, President Donald Trump has openly threatened different nations. The Trump administration seeks to reassert US influence in the South American region. After Operation Absolute Resolve, President Trump threatened Colombian President Gustavo Petro by stating, “Venezuela, it’s very sick. Columbia is very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. He’s not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you.” When asked whether he is considering a military operation in Colombia, he stated, “Sounds good to me.”

President Trump also threatened Mexico by hinting at military strikes inside the country. Previously, he described the Mexican President, Claudia Sheinbaum, as “a good woman.” However, after the recent US military operation in Venezuela, his views regarding her have altered. In an interview on the US news channel, President Trump stated, “She is very frightened of the cartels. They’re running Mexico — she’s not running Mexico. Something’s going to have to be done with Mexico.” Responding to Trump’s threats, President Sheinbaum stated, “We categorically reject intervention in the internal matters of other countries. It is necessary to reaffirm that, in Mexico, the people rule and that we are a free and sovereign country. Cooperation, yes; subordination and intervention, no.”

The US President Donald Trump has also threatened the incumbent Cuban government. All these threats and the aggressive attitude of the US president demonstrate that the Trump administration seeks to reassert its influence over mineral-rich South America to perpetuate its global dominance and counter the growing international campaign of de-dollarization. Apart from the South American region, the US government also seeks to invade Greenland to take control of the Arctic region amid a widening gulf between the United States and Europe and due to its rivalry with Russia. Due to global warming and climate change, the Arctic ice is melting rapidly, opening regional sea routes for international trade. Moreover, the Arctic region is also mineral-rich. Thus, it provides great economic leverage to any country having complete influence over the whole region.

However, these sheer violations of the international rules and norms by the United States have further jeopardized the already fragile international peace and stability. China and Russia are rapidly rising as new global superpowers, leading the world to a multipolar international system. The US global hegemony is also in decline due to the rise of these two Eastern powers and their non-interventionist policies. In the past few years, the Global South has shifted its tilt towards Moscow and Beijing. The situation in the Pacific region is also tense between China and the United States. Amidst such an international scenario, this new interventionist policy of the US government and the total irrelevance of the international institutions have brought the world to a situation similar to post-World War 2. Moreover, it has inculcated fear in Ukraine and Taiwan, as the US operation in Venezuela indicates that international norms are no longer valid in the international system, and the “Might is Right” approach now rules the world. Nonetheless, by dismantling diplomatic guardrails and normalizing confrontation and interventions, Donald Trump pushed the United States, China, and Russia deeper into the Thucydides Trap.

Аbbas Hashemite is a political observer and research analyst for regional and global geopolitical issues. He is currently working as an independent researcher and journalist