U.S. to Exert Greater Power Across Western Hemisphere
US forces entered the oil-rich nation on Saturday, detaining Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Both were subsequently indicted by the Department of Justice on drug-trafficking charges. When presented before a New York court on Monday, Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty. Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government denounced the incursion as an “imperialist attack.”
President Donald Trump framed the military operation as a revival and expansion of the Monroe Doctrine, the 19th-century policy designed to block European influence in the Americas.
“This is OUR Hemisphere, and President Trump will not allow our security to be threatened,” the State Department wrote on X on Monday.
Echoing the warning, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told media, “This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live, and we’re not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be a base of operations for adversaries, competitors, and rivals of the United States.”
Trump also emphasized American economic interests, saying he wants US firms to gain access to Venezuela’s oil sector, nationalized under Hugo Chavez. He added that the US intends to “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” without providing further details.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil accused the United States of exploiting drug allegations as a cover for “a colonial war” aimed at exploiting the nation’s resources. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, sworn in as acting president on Monday, demanded Maduro’s release.
“President Donald Trump: our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war,” Rodríguez wrote on Instagram, pledging to defend Venezuela’s sovereignty.
Russia also condemned the operation. Russian envoy to the UN Vassily Nebenzia labeled the raid “international banditry,” warning it could drive the world into chaos and “an epoch of lawlessness.”
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