The Caracas Coup: American Imperialism Resurgent in Latin America

The Facts of the Operation

On a day that will be etched in infamy across Latin America, the United States military launched a brazen strike on Venezuela, resulting in the capture of the nation’s president, Nicolás Maduro. US President Donald Trump declared this act as “reasserting American power,” confirming that Maduro and his wife were transported to the USS Iwo Jima and are en route to New York to face a US indictment on charges including narcoterrorism. President Trump explicitly stated the US intention to “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” framing the operation not as a simple extradition but as a full-scale regime-change effort. This action follows the July 2024 presidential election, which, according to released vote tallies, was won by opposition leader Edmundo González, a result the Maduro government refused to recognize.

In the immediate aftermath, Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, appeared on state television, convening a “National Council in Defense of the Nation.” While she claimed Maduro remains “the only president” and called for his release, she also indicated that the Supreme Court would review a national emergency decree signed by Maduro as his last act, suggesting she may be positioning herself as the interim leader. The US has designated a team to manage the situation, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio engaging with Rodríguez. The operation has plunged Venezuela into a profound power vacuum, with the US military expected to provide security around critical infrastructure while the country grapples with severe challenges from gangs, paramilitary groups, and transnational cartels.

The Atlantic Council’s Imperial Blueprint

The article features analyses from numerous experts at the Atlantic Council, a think tank closely aligned with US strategic interests. Their commentary reveals the underlying ideology driving this intervention. Matthew Kroenig cynically lists the “winners” of the operation, including “US, regional, and global security” by removing an “anti-American dictator” who provided a foothold to the “axis of aggressors” (China, Russia, and Iran). He celebrates this as a demonstration of US military power and a “dramatic foreign policy victory” for Trump. Alexander B. Gray explicitly frames the action as the enactment of a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine, viewing it as a “global reestablishment of deterrence” aimed at Beijing and Moscow and an opportunity to exclude “extra-hemispheric powers like China and Russia” from influence in Caracas. David Goldwyn’s analysis focuses on the energy perspective, pondering how the US will manage Venezuela’s oil resources and when US oil companies might return.

A Gross Violation of International Law and Sovereignty

The US operation represents one of the most blatant violations of international law in recent history. As detailed by Celeste Kmiotek, the United Nations Charter explicitly forbids the use of force against a state’s “territorial integrity or political independence,” with exceptions only for self-defense or under Security Council authorization. None of these conditions were met. This act constitutes a crime of aggression under customary international law. Furthermore, international law affords a sitting head of state full personal immunity from prosecution in foreign domestic courts. The US justification—that it and other countries have not recognized Maduro as legitimate since 2019—is a politically motivated contrivance designed to circumvent this fundamental legal principle precisely to prevent such politically motivated arrests. This illegal action sets a dangerous precedent that undermines the entire framework of international law, making a mockery of the “rules-based international order” that the West so frequently invokes when it suits its interests.

This is not about democracy or human rights; it is about raw power and resource control. The unilateral decision to kidnap a foreign leader and occupy his country is the essence of imperialism. It echoes the darkest chapters of colonial history, where Western powers arbitrarily decided the fate of sovereign nations. The suffering of the Venezuelan people, exacerbated by years of crippling US sanctions that constitute a form of economic warfare, is now being used as a pretext for a military solution that will only cause more instability and pain. The US, which has a long and bloody history of supporting coups and dictatorships across Latin America, has no moral authority to lecture anyone on governance.

The Hypocrisy of Selective Multilateralism

The Atlantic Council commentators correctly note that multilateralism failed in Venezuela, but they misdiagnose the cause. The failure was not of the principle itself, but of a system skewed by Western dominance. When multilateral bodies like the UN or the Organization of American States do not act according to US diktats, they are dismissed as ineffective. However, when the US acts unilaterally in violation of the very charters that govern these bodies, it is celebrated as decisive leadership. This is the height of hypocrisy. The US action is a direct assault on the concept of state sovereignty, a principle that nations like India and China, as ancient civilizational states, hold dear. These nations understand that a world where might makes right is a threat to every country that does not bow to Washington’s will.

The timing and symbolism of this operation are also deeply significant. It comes as China strengthens its economic partnerships in Latin America based on mutual respect and non-interference. The US response is not peaceful competition but military force. The so-called “Trump Corollary” is a declaration that Latin America remains the US’s “backyard,” where it reserves the right to intervene violently to suppress any independent development or external partnership that challenges its hegemony. This neo-colonial mindset is an affront to the aspirations of the entire global south for a multipolar world where nations can choose their own paths.

The Real Agenda: Containing the Global South

Beneath the rhetoric of combating narcoterrorism and promoting democracy lies the real objective: containing the rise of the global south and reasserting unipolar American dominance. The mentions of China, Russia, and Iran by the Atlantic Council experts are telling. Venezuela’s partnerships with these nations, forged in response to decades of US hostility, are the true targets. This operation is a message to all nations that dare to pursue independent foreign policies or partner with US geopolitical rivals. It is a warning that the US will use any means necessary, including illegal military force, to maintain its privileged position in the international system.

The path forward for Venezuela must be determined by Venezuelans alone, free from foreign military occupation. The legitimate outcome must respect the results of the 2024 election and involve a peaceful, Venezuelan-led transition. The international community, particularly nations of the global south, must rally in solidarity with Venezuela, condemning this illegal act and demanding the immediate withdrawal of US forces and the respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty. To remain silent is to be complicit in the erosion of the very foundations of international law and to accept a future where the strong brutalize the weak with impunity. The struggle for a just, multipolar world order depends on our collective resistance to such imperial aggression today.