US Venezuela Intervention: A Dangerous Precedent for Global Power Dynamics

• The US conducted a military operation in Venezuela on January 3, 2026, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from Caracas.
• President Donald Trump declared the US would "run Venezuela," granting American oil companies access to rebuild its energy infrastructure.
• The intervention, dubbed the "Don-Roe Doctrine," reinterprets the 200-year-old Monroe Doctrine to justify regime change and neo-mercantilism.
• Critics argue this "simulated war" is not strategic but performative, setting a dangerous precedent for great power politics.
• The action provides rhetorical cover for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a playbook for China's potential actions regarding Taiwan, weakening US normative leverage.

Why It Matters: US intervention in Venezuela sets a dangerous global precedent, weakening international norms and empowering rivals.