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Editor’s Note
This article examines the sharp divergence between rhetoric and reality in the United States’ latest National Security Strategy under President Donald Trump. While the document projects sweeping claims of global stabilisation and conflict resolution, events in Venezuela suggest a far more interventionist and coercive interpretation of American power. By placing recent actions alongside the strategy’s stated objectives, the piece explores whether Washington’s new doctrine signals deterrence through strength or a destabilising return to unilateral force, with implications well beyond Latin America.
Late last year, in November, the US Government published its National Security Strategy. The paper starts with a bang, as expected from a document bearing President Trump’s signature. Trump claims that, “Over the past nine months, we (the US) have brought our nation – and the world – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster.” He also states that in eight months, the US settled eight raging conflicts, including the India-Pakistan conflict. Notwithstanding Trump’s claims, the President may have also initiated at least one more conflict: Operation Absolute Resolve. American troops landed at the Venezuelan Presidential Palace and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia. They also flew them to the US to face charges of drug trafficking and partnering with cartels designated as terrorists.
It would be pertinent to first outline the operation carried out by the US forces. Very obviously, a substantive amount of intelligence had been gathered prior to the operation. A US Navy aircraft carrier group was stationed in the Caribbean to support the raid. According to reports, over 1,500 men have been there since August 2026. Over 150 aircraft, including fighters, bombers, and surveillance platforms, were used. These aircraft knocked out Venezuela’s air defence systems, allowing the helicopters to fly in and out uncontested. Special Force Delta was tasked with the operation. The forces managed to capture Maduro and his wife. One soldier suffered injuries, and a helicopter sustained some damage. However, both were retrieved.
Getting back to the US Strategy document, it should be stated that it addresses issues straightforwardly. It describes Strategy as being the relationship between ends and means. A peek into the document’s postulates is a useful starting point for understanding why and what it was that Caracas. Why was a reigning President snatched away to the USA?
The strategy paper emphasises the Western Hemisphere and its importance to the US. The major landmasses of North and South America are integral to the overall dimensions of the Western Hemisphere. These are obviously important areas for American security planners, and they have reasons to be interested in the dynamics thereabouts.
The strategy paper clearly defines American goals in this area. “We (the US) want a Hemisphere whose governments cooperate with us against narco-terrorists, cartels, and other transnational criminal organisations; we want a Hemisphere that remains free of hostile foreign incursion or ownership of key assets.”
Venezuela has been ruled by Leftist parties for over 25 years. Its relationship with the US has of late reached a nadir with the US Attorney General Bondi enhancing a reward for information leading to the arrest/ conviction of Nicolas Maduro to $50 million. The US already had a crude oil blockade in place on shipments from Venezuela. The Chinese have invested extensively in this resource-rich country, which holds the world’s largest oil and gold deposits. According to the US Strategy document, such an increase in Chinese footprints will not be to Trump’s liking. However, Chinese presence is considerable in Latin America, and is on the rise.
Viewed in the context of US Strategy, Venezuela surely stood at the forefront of states of particular interest to Washington. Obviously, the deteriorating relations between the two countries had reached an irretrievable point. Yet, what the US opted for surprised the whole world and drew condemnation even at home. However, American Presidents using military forces, with or without the authorisation of Congress, are plenty. Panama, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Libya, Kosovo and a lot more such interventions are a part of a long list when American Presidents have used military forces beyond American borders without Congressional approval.
The fact that the Strategy document means business and is not just aspirational, emotive plans and posturing, has been driven home without ambiguity by the operation in Venezuela. The American leadership has also put a few more countries on full alert. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a stern warning to Cuba, stating, “Cuba is run by senile, incompetent men.” Other countries in the region, including Colombia and Mexico, have also been warned by senior US leadership.
Trump has also reiterated his interest in grabbing Greenland. That’s two NATO members close to locking horns for the same stretch of real estate, a sure recipe for NATO’s endgame. A large number of NATO members have already debunked the idea.
Beyond the Western Hemisphere, the US cross-wires are on Iran, with 36 deaths of protestors on the streets being reported so far. The rioting is due to rising food prices. Trump has issued a stern warning to the Iranian regime.
Venezuela’s Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez, has been sworn in as the Interim President. In the initial euphoria of success, Trump’s announcements boiled down to the US running Venezuela and to large US companies that had invested in Venezuela’s oil running these assets. Trump’s hawkish tone and tenor perhaps drove the Interim Venezuelan President to be loud and clear in her response, “We will never return to being slaves”.
How it will progress hereafter in Venezuela is the big question now. An issue that also calls for an answer is: how did the Americans manage a clean entry and exit without losing a single man or machine in Operation Absolute Resolve?
Maduro and his wife have pleaded not guilty to all charges in a US court, with Maduro stating he is the President of a country. Back home, as already stated, acting President Delcy insists that Maduro is the President, but her readiness to resolve issues with the Americans offers hope. The opposition leader María Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has called for the release of all political prisoners. She has also expressed a desire to get back to Venezuela. Donald Trump, however, is not too keen about her and feels she lacks the support and respect to run Venezuela. Incidentally, Trump was himself keen on the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
Venezuela has well-entrenched drug cartels, large quantities of arms and ammunition and enough men carrying guns. The relationship between narcotics and terror has always been a proximate one. Venezuela has to be politically stable as soon as possible to ensure that law and order in the country don’t break down. Simultaneously, it needs to retain its sovereignty.
Americans need to sit across the table with Venezuelans and resolve differences. Delcy, in turn, has to address American concerns. The US needs to assist Venezuela in building on its vast potential and prospering as a democracy.
As far as NATO is concerned, they might as well push for a dialogue between the Americans and Denmark to resolve the Greenland issue!
As for the Americans’ ability to pull off Operation Absolute Resolve without any losses, we will have to wait for more details to seep out.
Brig SK Chatterji (Retd)
Editor, Bharatshakti.in
Opinion: The US move against Nicolás Maduro echoes the coup that ousted Chile’s president Salvador Allende in 1973 — in both cases, control of strategic natural resources lay at the heart of American interests.
However in this instance, the US Oil companies want investment guarantees and that would involve US tax payers money and doubtful.
Venezuela doesn’t produce Illegal Drugs but is the passage for Colombian drugs . Colombia is the next logical US target which has prompted Gustavo Petro , the Colombian President to seek audience with Trump in White House next week.
Cuba possibly is the worst hit by US intervention in Venezuela, it’s crumbling economy and old Power infrastructure depended heavily on discounted oil from Venezuela, it’s main supplier. It will extremely difficult for Cuba to weather this storm amid crippling US decades old sanctions.
Beyond Venezuela, Colombia and Cuba this US action may not have much impact .
In Venezuela, if the interim President doesn’t agree to US terms , will US again use force and the world will again be mere bystanders, needs to be watched .
Even if US oil firms develop the Venezuelan Oil industry, will common Venezuelans benefit from it , is doubtful.
With Venezuelan Oil Reserve in it’s kitty along with Syrian-Iraqi and Libyan oil and that of Saudi Arabia , the US dollar which is pegged
with Oil trade, will become invincible.
The repercussions of the hegemony of Dollar and US control over most of world’s oil reserves barring Russian, will be felt most adversely by developing nations which import oil to fuel their growth.
They will be susceptible to US sanctions if tjey don’t tow the US line.
Brig Chaterjee has penned a very fine article.
US move against Nicolás Maduro echoes the coup that ousted Chile’s president Salvador Allende in 1973 — in both cases, control of strategic natural resources lay at the heart of American interests.
However in this instance, the US Oil companies want investment guarantees and that would involve US tax payers money and doubtful.
Venezuela doesn’t produce Illegal Drugs but is the passage for Colombian drugs . Colombia is the next logical US target which has prompted Gustavo Petro , the Colombian President to seek audience with Trump in White House next week.
Cuba possibly is the worst hit by US intervention in Venezuela, it’s crumbling economy and old Power infrastructure depended heavily on discounted oil from Venezuela, it’s main supplier. It will extremely difficult for Cuba to weather this storm amid crippling US decades old sanctions.
Beyond Venezuela, Colombia and Cuba this US action may not have much impact .
In Venezuela, if the interim President doesn’t agree to US terms , will US again use force and the world will again be mere bystanders, needs to be watched .
Even if US oil firms develop the Venezuelan Oil industry, will common Venezuelans benefit from it , is doubtful.
With Venezuelan Oil Reserve in it’s kitty along with Syrian-Iraqi and Libyan oil and that of Saudi Arabia , the US dollar which is pegged
with Oil trade, will become invincible.
The repercussions of the hegemony of Dollar and US control over most of world’s oil reserves barring Russian, will be felt most adversely by developing nations which import oil to fuel their growth.
They will be susceptible to US sanctions if tjey don’t tow the US line.
Brig Chaterjee has penned a very fine article.
A very precise article, sequentially built post the National Strategy Document of US.