The USA strike on Venezuela: Another act of Trump’s neo-colonialist impulses

With the erstwhile President Nicolas Maduro being ousted in what appears to be another US-engineered coup post the USA’s actions in Chile during the tenure of Salvador Allende, progressive voices across Latin America have condemned the violation of international law.

Sagnik Bhaduri, West Bengal

The Constitutional Chamber of the Venezuelan Supreme Court, on Saturday, appointed Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez as the interim President post the US-engineered ouster of the erstwhile Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.

Following an act of military invasion (another blot to U.S. foreign policy post Chile (1973) and Iraq (2003)), the product of one of the most enormous troop mobilisations in the Caribbean consisting of-large aircraft carriers, amphibious vessels, submarines and fighter jets, the Trump-helmed administration announced on January 3,2026 that Venezuela would be temporarily be governed by the U.S. and the country’s oil reserves would be tapped for export to other nations.

Mr. Maduro and his partner Cilia Fores, who were aboard a U.S. warship destined for New York, are to face “narco-terrorism” indictments.

The NSS 2025: A resurgence of a neo-colonial world order

With its influence petering away in Europe, the U.S.A. is seeking to reinforce American hegemony by carving a sphere of influence in Latin America. The action contradicts Mr. Trump’s claim of being the, “President of peace” as his onslaught has unleashed bombings in over six countries. Hence, this act of unilateral militarism bears a striking semblance to the National Security Strategy (NSS) which was released the US government in 2025.   Rooted in firmly neo-colonial instincts the NSS 2025 seeks to abide by the Monroe Doctrine as it identifies Latin America and the Caribbean as strategic priority.

The Trump administration ,with its ideological moorings in the imagination of a “Christian civilization” and its unpredictable impulses seeks to do away with the postwar multilateral “rules-based” world order fostered by major international bodies and policies -the UNHRC(United Nations Human Rights Commission),WHO(World Health Organisation),the Paris Climate Agreement -with Senator Mike Lee’s proposal to enact the DEFUND(Disengaging Entirely From the United Nations Debacle)Act in 2025.

This has resulted into what journalist (and international affairs editor at The Hindu) Stanly Johny terms as a “unipolar world with bipolar characteristics”. With its oil supply situated in Beijing and military assistance from Moscow alongside the phony US-manufactured threat of operating drug cartels, the Venezuelan republic poses a threat to the political, economic and military dominance of the U.S.A.

Furthermore, the Venezuelan State has condemned the U.S.A administration’s actions as being “imperialistic” in nature. Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez voiced the demand to free the ousted Maduro. Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula De Silva has termed the act as a “dangerous precedent” which could spiral into “violence, instability and chaos”. The response from Progressive governments across Latin America-Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Uruguay-have condemned the violation of international law and the absence of any Congressional approval.

This mirrors the inherently anarchic nature of the international system as the world continues to be segregated into “pockets of influence” as Washington is no longer the sole power shaping geopolitical outcomes with China and Russia carving their own spaces and world orders.