Just when you thought Donald Trump had crossed all red lines and he couldn’t do anything crazier, he surprises you by stretching the limits of unacceptability.
The invasion of Caracas, and the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in the dead of night on 3 January by elite US Delta commandos set off a global gasp. Heads of state are terrified. Many are still recovering from the images of an injured Maduro and his wife being hauled in prison uniform from armored vans before a New York judge.
Since 3 January, events have sweeping the world without a moment to digest the new world order. After bombing the Venezuelan capital, Donald Trump has announced he intends to “run” the country via the new President and Maduro’s second-in-command, Delcy Rodriguez. For starters, he has seized a couple of oil tankers and ordered Venezuela to turn over 30 to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. as reparation.
He has also turned his attention to other pesky opponents like President Gustavo Petro of Columbia, calling him “a sick man who likes to make cocaine and sell it to the US.”
It all started with posing Maduro and others as suppliers of drugs, and pushing criminals in the garb of immigrants. But everyone knew it was all about controlling America’s backyard, and accessing its oil and other resources.
Unlike the shadowy language and anonymity of CIA operations ordered by past U.S. presidents, Trump and his team don’t mince words. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose origins are from the Cuban exile community, hinted Cuba was in US’ sights when he said: “If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned at least a little bit.”
Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense, was more forthright when he said his goal was of “reestablishing American deterrence and dominance in the Western Hemisphere”. In a clear statement of US’ unabashed imperialist intent he added: “Our adversaries remain on notice. America can project our will anywhere, anytime.”
The Munroe Doctrine
It’s now all about establishing the Munroe Doctrine afresh. It was the fifth US President, James Munroe, who in 1823, enunciated the parameters of early US imperialist policy. What came to be known as the Munroe Doctrine, divides the world into spheres of influence overseen by different powers.
Munroe in his address to Congress, warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Americas, which would be overseen by the United States. Any interference or action by the European countries would be viewed as an attack on the US. In return, he promised the US would recognize and not interfere with existing European colonies or the internal affairs of European countries.
In more recent years, the US has applied the Munroe Doctrine to ensure hostile regimes don’t exist in its backyard. Salvador Allende, an elected Communist leader of Chile, was ousted and killed in 1973 via a US-aided coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. Using the same doctrine, President Ronald Reagan later in the 1980s intervened in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Nicaragua to ensure ‘friendly banana republics.’
President Trump’s brazen attempts at regime change in left-leaning Venezuela and Cuba are just the new variations of the Munroe Doctrine. At stake is also Venezuela’s 303 billion barrels of oil, the largest known reserves in the world.
Trump by words and actions has made it clear: Hostile regimes not in line with US policy will not be permitted in South America. Giving in to his penchant to rename everything after himself, he derisively has called it “the Donroe Document.”
But what is a game changer is the US President now seeking to tear up even US’ post colonial alliances like NATO that have held their ground since World War II. We are talking of Greenland. By seeking to now annex on grounds of ‘national security’ the self-governing Danish principality, rich in rare earth minerals, the Trump regime has roiled Europe in a fresh crisis.
Since Denmark is a NATO member, annexation of Greenland could well mean the end of NATO as we know it. On Ukraine, the European nations have already formed an axis sans the US -- the ‘Coalition of the Willing’. It may not be too long before the US and Europe part ways altogether. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned a US military attack on Greenland could effectively end NATO.
Significantly, the ambitions of the US regime for controlling the world order go beyond the Western Hemisphere. In recent days, President Trump has threatened Iran with more military intervention if the latter does not stop “repressive measures” against protesters. On 25 December, last year, the US launched powerful and deadly strikes in Nigeria against what it claimed were Islamic State camps.
As the ‘Donroe’ juggernaut rolls on, India too is facing the rough end of the stick. On Thursday, President Trump decided to back a private bipartisan bill being moved in the US Congress mandating up to 500% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil. Though not naming India, the legislation will hit India hard considering she is the second largest importer of Russian crude after China. The bill could be moved for passage as soon as a week from now.
India's on-going negotiations with the US on a trade deal was paused because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not make a telephone call to President Donald Trump to iron out differences, U.S Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. As it is India is paying the highest tariffs on goods exported to the US at 50% since August.
Neo-imperialism comes is all forms.