The Western Hemisphere was the initial testing ground where the United States first learned to project its financial, cultural, and military power beyond its own borders. This experience in Latin America was central to the U.S. developing its identity and capabilities as an overseas power.
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Under Trump, the primary tool for projecting U.S. power is shifting from economic instruments like tariffs to direct military, intelligence, and cyber capabilities. This "Donroe Doctrine" leverages America's asymmetrical advantages in these areas, especially in its hemisphere, to achieve foreign policy wins without relying on economic coercion.
The U.S. has a historical pattern of turning its focus back to the Western Hemisphere after periods of global overreach or crisis, such as after the Great Depression, Vietnam, and the War on Terror. This retreat is a way to reassert power in its immediate sphere of influence when its global ambitions falter.
The United States' greatest strategic advantage over competitors like China is its vast ecosystem of over 50 wealthy, advanced, allied nations. China has only one treaty ally: North Korea. Weakening these alliances through punitive actions is a critical foreign policy error that erodes America's primary source of global strength.
Latin America's strong legal commitment to national sovereignty and non-intervention was not an abstract ideal developed in a vacuum. It was a pragmatic and principled response, forged over centuries of living next to the United States as it expanded, conquered territory, and asserted its dominance across the hemisphere.
Theodore Roosevelt's 1904 corollary claiming "international police power" was often a reaction to "chronic wrongdoing" in Latin America. Ironically, this instability was frequently instigated by the predatory actions of U.S. banks, corporations, and mercenaries, forcing the U.S. government to intervene and settle problems that private American interests had created.
In 1933, FDR's "Good Neighbor Policy" reversed the interventionist stance of the Monroe Doctrine. By recognizing Latin American sovereignty, he built crucial goodwill and continental unity against rising fascism. This diplomatic move ultimately strengthened U.S. power by making it more efficient and securing regional allies for WWII.
Despite the public focus on oil, the primary goal of removing Maduro was likely to demonstrate U.S. primacy in the Western Hemisphere. The action serves as a strong signal that the U.S. is willing to act aggressively to enforce its influence in the region.
The U.S. intervention in Venezuela demonstrates its willingness to act decisively in the Western hemisphere. This display of power provides the U.S. with increased leverage in USMCA trade negotiations, enabling it to push Mexico harder on limiting Chinese investment and influence.
Initially just a few cautious paragraphs in an 1823 State of the Union address, the "Monroe Doctrine" was never voted on or ratified. It was only elevated to the status of a formal doctrine decades later through political interpretation and gradual incorporation into customary law, driven by assertions of U.S. power.
The conflict is not primarily about oil or drugs, but a strategic move to reassert U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere. As China solidifies its influence in the East, the U.S. is 'drawing a line' to counter China's partnerships (like with Venezuela) in its own sphere of influence.
