Could the Operation in Venezuela end up in a crippled world order?
It is standard practice for doctors to study and plan with military precision and then take a scalpel to their patient that too, when it is the only option left. Well, Donald Trump is no surgeon and he has no compunctions about reminding the world of that fact.
While USA holds probably the greatest military and soft power might to have ever existed on this planet, however, it was never designed to be exercised if it could be helped. Think of it as a limited-edition collectible, the moment you open the pack, you get the joy, but its value is gone.
Geography is destiny and US is blessed in that regard. It came up physically close enough to the greatest power centres for trade, but isolated enough to have immunity from the consequences of its actions. What’s more, it never had another power centre in close-proximity to pose a direct threat. Et voila! The world wars came as a boon, production could not be threatened and the cost could be diverted to war efforts without a worry of an attack on the main land. This of course changed with the coming of the cold war and invention of long-range bombers and ICBMs, this still was not nearly as bad as it was for Europe.
The Cold war probably ended up being the best thing for the US. War has always driven humanity’s progress, a cold-war between two superpowers allowed virtually no holds barred innovation for decades. That gave them the first advantage, military technology and doctrine bolstered by NATO support. The less fortunate geography of Europe however, is the second advantage. US became the de facto godfather and their rivalry with USSR was so consummate that at some point people just stopped asking questions and just assumed letting US handle security was as natural as rain.
Not all rain is alike though; some can drown you when the water has no where to go. With the fall of the Soviets, the US power hegemony became absolute overnight. This meant, no one wanted to mess with Uncle Sam, anyone that tried suddenly seemed to lose power or found their country in the need for “freedom”. This became the cornerstone of American power, no longer was it just soft and hard power, it became a multidimensional threat matrix through and through. But of course, the hangover of having colonies hadn’t yet subsided in Europe, so they couldn’t be bothered about third world countries, after all, they were safe under the “king”.
To its credit, US has been a fine “surgeon” for the most part. When they do “bring freedom”, you almost want to cheer for them. Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen, the list goes on, but seems like whenever there is an evil dictator, the righteous knights under the star-spangled banner rise up to protect those that need it. The more discerning population, doubts it, and eventually, there’s some vague news about CIA involvement. All “fake news” of course.
Enter Donald Trump. With the subtlety expected from a bull in a China-shop, no pun intended, he decides to do what most presidents never tried, not since the relatively wide spread of nuclear weapons anyway. He decided to open uncle Sam’s little trophy case and see what can be used. The power designed over decades to act as a subtle and vaguely defined but potent threats, were suddenly used, collapsing the vague nature into defined action. Down side? If it can be defined, it can be countered.
Where the surgeons of the past would toil with inconspicuous cuts and precision, this administration decided to take a sledgehammer and see what can be done later. When Apaches rained down on Caracas, the hitherto somewhat respectable American tradition of chasing its interests at the expense of foreign govt. through clever means and maintaining plausible deniability went out the window.
They sure played it by the book, picking the most despicable despot, then proceeded to sell it as salvation to people, but a declaration of running the country was probably a taking it a tad far.
Now, under ordinary circumstances, this would be a mild shock and then get swept under the rug by the govt. of the global north. However, the surgeon ensured that not only was there no anaesthesia but the patient was on stimulants, in their mind and undeniably aware of what was happening.
The weaponisation of the economy through tariffs can be considered the first economic world war. Going scorched-Earth on adversaries, allies and penguins alike, US gave NATO and its INDOPAC partners a serious wake up call. EU was forced to re-evaluate its dependency and proximity to the US, but the artist wasn’t done yet.
Threatening to take Greenland, motivated by its resources, driven by a proven disregard for ecology and hidden under a thin veil of national security ruffled some feathers, and the arbitrary and punitive tariffs of Australia, Switzerland and even UK and Canada removed any scope of denial. Further, reducing tariffs on countries like Pakistan that seemed to offer up their resources and effectively their sovereignty, seemed to pacify Washington somewhat.
The message was clear, the cold hard and unforgiving agenda of US now also had a personal ego in the mix, you bring an offering for the king, and you might have some grain for the winter. The latest operations in Venezuela, though thoroughly impressive from a military point of view, are a point of concern since it signifies and collapses another hypothetical notion about US power into reality. It can compromise your national sovereignty not only through deep, covert channel but through boots on the ground and is no longer hesitant about its image.
To his credit, the POTUS is thoroughly consistent, he did give a preview by bombing Iranian nuclear sites and he threatened multiple countries in the neighbourhood. A masterstroke of hard power politics, kidnapping maduro and his wife would get leaders of the region to the table and save the Pentagon a lot on Pizza bills, spent trying to come up with how another tyrant to his people is also a criminal to the USA. However, adding Greenland to the mix might be the fault lines finally cracking from the hammer strike. A much stronger statement from Denmark and alleged support from Starmer and him otherwise denying involvement shows that the seemingly iron clad brotherhood between Washinton and London could not absorb the shockwaves either. Further UK interests in rejoining the EU maybe hint at growing anxiety at Downing Street about the increasingly overt assertiveness from across the Atlantic.
One thing is for certain, US representatives at the highest level have loosened the reigns on their tongues calling the NATO arrangement, what it is, a security subscription by client states and guaranteed by Washington and their decades of complacent and blind reliance on the latter means that they are vulnerable and not in a position to negotiate.
2026 started with a firm reminder of what seems to be a pop-culture fad, what if superman went rogue. Only this time, the stakes are real, American capability to put itself ahead always and at any cost was always known but their willingness to exercise it shamelessly was always an uneasy question. Now it is becoming increasingly clear that this administration has no qualms about taking the short route and they are frighteningly capable of doing so.
What does it mean for the world order? If a tyrant rises, so do rebellions. What US is doing is extremely efficient and undeniably effective, at least in the short run. The question is no longer, “will they do it to us?” it is, “When and over what little slight will they do it?”. The world has been forced to learn multipolarity, through ironic attempts by Washington to keep it Uni-polar. USA is unlikely to fall due to it, but its resistance to it will be uncomfortable for everyone and a threat to their sovereignty.
This may well be the rise of neo-colonialism in its most dramatic form yet and so far, the only deterrence might be the people of US. US needs considerable telegraphing to exercise it’s full might, and that comes in the form of consent manufacturing at home. Right now things seem to hint towards a telegraph before US punches again and acts as an insurance to ensure the strike doesn’t lack force.
This might work well for this term, but it also damages US credibility, possibly irreparably. If one Trump could exist, more can, and probably worse ones. The Pandora’s Box is open and US soft power will only degrade save for that which is established through less than scrupulous means. Furthermore, tyrant or not, capturing a leader and parading him through your streets as a show of strength is an entirely too medieval and crude mockery of international law. Done by the self-proclaimed and widely accepted custodians of the free world, it undermines the legitimacy and potency of international law even more than these few years have already managed.
Nations will move to hedge their interests and USA will have lesser and lesser control. The loose tongues running free in the White house, mocking world leaders and consumed in a frenzy of megalomania or delusions of grandeur will only serve to hasten the collapse of the current world order.
Objectively, this just increases variables and reduces predictability in the landmine that international political landscape already is, with reduced trust and effectiveness of systems in place. International relations could simply become more tribal and individual and a worst-case scenario maybe increased rates of conflicts, economic malpractice and an overall regression of modern society.
