Protests erupted outside the US embassy in Seoul, South Korea, on 5 January 2026, as global reaction intensified to American military action in Venezuela. The operation, which resulted in the ousting of President Nicolás Maduro, has been labelled a coup, raising profound questions about US foreign policy under Donald Trump.
The Caracas Putsch: A Staged Operation?
Emerging reports suggest last week's events in Caracas were less a conventional invasion and more a carefully orchestrated putsch. According to these accounts, Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez and her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, had been engaged in secret talks with Washington since April 2025, with Qatar acting as an intermediary.
The operation appears to have been staged for maximum dramatic effect, with Delcy Rodríguez's initial public condemnation of the "atrocious" act potentially part of the theatre. Maduro was handed over to American forces swiftly and without significant conflict. A telling slip came when Trump described Delcy Rodríguez as "quite gracious" before she was hastily sworn in as interim president.
A History of Intervention Over International Law
While the affair constitutes a clear breach of international law, the author argues that surprise at such US action is misplaced. The pattern of American presidents proclaiming isolationism only to later deploy military force is a long-established one.
George Washington advocated for aloofness from foreign conflicts, a sentiment echoed by Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt before both led the US into world wars. The article cites Reagan's 1983 invasion of Grenada and George H.W. Bush's 1990 kidnapping of Panama's Manuel Noriega as precedents where international law was sidelined.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been notably cautious in his response, drawing a contrast with Margaret Thatcher's furious protest to Reagan over the Grenada operation.
The 'Trump Corollary' and a New American Empire?
Trump's actions mark a dramatic U-turn from his previous isolationist rhetoric, where he criticised NATO and nation-building. His policy architect, Stephen Miller, is reportedly formulating a "Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, expanding US authority across the Americas under national security pretexts.
This could theoretically justify interventions in Greenland, Cuba, or even Canada, with Miller's wife having reportedly shared an image of Greenland adorned with the US flag. The article warns this direction points towards a US empire in the Americas and potential quagmires akin to the Iraq war.
The piece concludes that while restoring democracy to Venezuela could be a justification, Trump has not framed his actions in these terms. Instead, he appears to be revelling in the deployment of US might, a trait he shares with many of his predecessors, despite their differing rhetoric.
