President Donald Trump has delivered an unmistakable message following the U.S. military operation that captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and transported him and his wife to the United States to face federal drug trafficking charges.
Declaring that “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again,” Trump framed the raid as a demonstration of renewed U.S. supremacy in the region.
In the days since the operation, Trump and senior officials have reinforced the idea that Washington’s assertive posture in the hemisphere is not temporary. The president has repeatedly pointed to Maduro’s capture as a warning to neighboring countries to align with U.S. interests or risk consequences.
Trump’s language has drawn comparisons to the forceful rhetoric of late 19th- and early 20th-century American leaders, when U.S. presidents openly used military power to secure territory and resources in places such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Panama, Nicaragua, Haiti, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
“Past conflicts like Vietnam and Iraq raised concerns about American imperialism, but leaders at the time justified their actions through the language of democracy,” said Edward Frantz, a historian at the University of Indianapolis. “Trump’s rhetoric is far more direct and reminiscent of an era we haven’t seen in decades.”
Following the raid, Trump has also aimed sharp criticism at traditional partners, including Greenland and Mexico. He renewed calls for U.S. control of the Danish territory, citing national security concerns, and said Mexico must “get its act together” in combating drug cartels.
He further warned that longtime U.S. adversary Cuba is “going down” after losing access to heavily discounted Venezuelan oil, and heightened regional anxiety by suggesting that a military operation in Colombia — a major hub of global cocaine production — would be acceptable.
Trump has asserted that Washington will effectively oversee Venezuela’s future, threatening interim President Delcy Rodríguez with consequences worse than Maduro’s if she fails to comply with U.S. demands. He has made clear that he expects Venezuela to open its vast oil reserves to American companies, fueling debate over U.S. overreach.
Over the weekend, Trump said U.S. energy firms would invest billions of dollars to rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure and profit from its production.
The operation has divided Latin America. Right-leaning governments aligned with Trump largely welcomed Maduro’s removal, while non-aligned leaders condemned the action as a violation of national sovereignty. The episode has also intensified concerns that Trump’s desire to annex Greenland may be genuine.
Monroe Doctrine rhetoric unsettles allies
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned Monday that any U.S. attempt to seize Greenland would threaten the future of NATO, calling it a direct assault on the post-World War II security alliance.
“If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops,” she told Danish broadcaster TV2.
Historically, U.S. leaders relied on the Monroe Doctrine — originally designed to prevent European interference in the Americas — to justify interventions across the hemisphere. Trump has now revived that doctrine to defend U.S. action in Venezuela and to warn other nations in the region.
According to Frantz, Trump’s language recalls President Theodore Roosevelt’s era of “gunboat diplomacy,” when U.S. power was openly asserted to protect national interests throughout the Caribbean and Central America.
Only weeks before Maduro’s removal, Trump released a long-awaited National Security Strategy that appeared internally contradictory. While it emphasized a preference for avoiding foreign conflicts, it also pledged to restore U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
With the Venezuelan operation, the administration appears firmly committed to the latter.
“This is where we live,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. “We’re not going to allow this hemisphere to be a base for our adversaries.”
Global backlash grows
At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Monday, Colombia’s ambassador, Leonor Zalabata Torres, described the U.S. action as reminiscent of some of the region’s darkest moments of foreign interference.
“Democracy cannot be defended through violence or coercion, nor replaced by economic interests,” she said.
Democrats in the United States have also questioned whether Trump’s actions could embolden authoritarian leaders elsewhere, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping.
“What the president has done here effectively gives Putin and Xi a green light,” said Sen. Angus King of Maine on CNN.
Russia has condemned the U.S. operation. Its U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said the international community cannot allow the United States to act as a “supreme judge” over other nations.