{"id":81007,"date":"2026-01-05T11:09:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T05:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=81007"},"modified":"2026-01-05T11:29:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T05:59:43","slug":"us-intervention-in-venezuela-and-the-monroe-doctrine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/us-intervention-in-venezuela-and-the-monroe-doctrine\/","title":{"rendered":"US Intervention in Venezuela and the Monroe Doctrine"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>US Intervention in Venezuela Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The capture of Venezuela\u2019s President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro by US forces on January 3 has reignited debate over a <\/span><b>return of overt US interventionism<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, raising concerns about <\/span><b>doctrine-driven<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> military action and its global implications.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The episode recalls former US Secretary of State Colin Powell\u2019s famous caution \u2014 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf you break it, you own it\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 coined during the 2003 Iraq War.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The audacious operation underscores the risks of ownership that follow forceful regime interventions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Trump\u2019s Policy U-Turn<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">US President Donald Trump, once a critic of the Iraq invasion and a self-proclaimed peacemaker upon taking office a year ago, has reversed course.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He justified the operation as being in line with an over 200-year-old foreign policy agenda set under the <\/span><b>Monroe Doctrine of 1823<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump has reasserted this doctrine\u2014recently rebranded by him\u2014as a guiding principle, marking a sharp departure from decades of US administrations that kept it largely dormant.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The shift was signalled in the new US security strategy released last month.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Pattern of Escalating Military Action<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Maduro operation fits a broader trend over the past year of expanded US military assertiveness:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Airstrikes ordered in Syria and Nigeria<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Threats of intervention amid protests in Iran<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Earlier 2025 actions targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, Houthi forces in Yemen, militants in Somalia, and Islamic groups in Iraq<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Together, these moves point to a worrying reassertion of unilateral military power, with Venezuela\u2019s intervention serving as the clearest signal yet that US interventionism is back\u2014this time with <\/span><b>oil and hemispheric dominance at its core<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why Venezuela: The Oil Factor<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Venezuela holds the largest proven crude oil reserves in the world\u2014over 300 billion barrels, roughly one-fifth of global reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite this, Venezuela produces only ~1 million barrels per day, about 0.8% of global output, highlighting a stark gap between potential and realisation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chevron is the only foreign oil major with exposure to Venezuelan crude, positioning US interests uniquely within the country\u2019s energy sector.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Trump\u2019s Oil-Centric Agenda<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">US President Donald Trump has made oil central to his rationale.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He stated that the US would take control of Venezuela\u2019s reserves and deploy American companies to invest \u201cbillions of dollars\u201d to refurbish broken oil infrastructure and ramp up production.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Criticism and Allegations<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critics say the intervention is mainly about taking control of Venezuela\u2019s oil resources.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They have described the move as \u201cstraight up theft,\u201d arguing that ignoring Venezuela\u2019s massive oil reserves hides the real reason behind the action.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some analysts also believe the move may help shift attention away from domestic political problems in the US, while allowing Washington to assert control over a valuable energy asset.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Monroe Doctrine: From Anti-Colonial Principle to Interventionist Tool<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Named after former US President <\/span><b>James Monroe<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Monroe Doctrine began as a symbolic <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">19th-century declaration opposing new or expanded European involvement in the Americas after colonial rule<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over time, the United States broadened its interpretation, treating Latin America as a strategic sphere of influence.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This shift turned the doctrine into a key justification for <\/span><b>US political and military interventions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across South and Central America for decades\u2014often criticised by scholars as an alibi for meddling in the region\u2019s internal affairs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While recent US administrations had largely distanced themselves from this approach, President Donald Trump has revived and reinforced it, aligning with right-leaning governments such as Argentina\u2019s and opposing left-wing leadership in countries like Brazil.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Historically, the doctrine\u2019s legacy is stark: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">between 1898 and 1994, the US intervened to change governments in Latin America at least 41 times, ostensibly to protect American interests and counter communism<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>MAGA Pushback: Disquiet Over Renewed US Interventionism<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">US President Donald Trump\u2019s move against Venezuela has triggered unease within his <\/span><b>Make America Great Again<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (MAGA) base, which supported him on the promise of ending \u201cnever-ending wars\u201d and avoiding new overseas entanglements.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump\u2019s assertion that a US team would work with Venezuelans to effectively \u201crun the country\u201d until a transition is achieved has raised fears of prolonged American involvement, contradicting core MAGA expectations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Venezuela\u2019s Uncertain Endgame<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It remains unclear whether the US will occupy Venezuela or back a US-approved leadership in Caracas.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While President Donald Trump hinted at cooperation from interim President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, she quickly denounced the US action.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The survival of the post-Maduro government, the absence of US troops on the ground, and deep political divisions complicate any transition\u2014especially with oil at stake.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The disputed 2024 election, claims of victory by Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez, and the sidelining of Mar\u00eda Corina Machado add to uncertainty. The coming weeks will be decisive.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-global\/venezuela-president-maduro-capture-trump-reason-oil-10454513\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jan\/04\/naked-imperialism-how-trump-intervention-in-venezuela-is-a-return-to-form-for-the-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TG<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The US Intervention in Venezuela signals a policy shift. We explore how US Intervention in Venezuela revives old doctrines and impacts Latin American political stability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":81027,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,22,59,4563],"class_list":{"0":"post-81007","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","10":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","11":"tag-us-intervention-in-venezuela","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}