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US President Donald Trump was elected partly on an “America First” platform, but his illegal and contrary military attack on Venezuela contains the seeds of a wider humanitarian tragedy that risks opening the door further to authoritarian regimes in China, Russia and the Middle East who wish to dominate their neighbours.
That said, the removal of Nicolás Maduro, an undemocratic and self-serving president whose regime has generated economic and political disruption throughout the Western hemisphere and caused the exodus of some 8 million people, will be little lamented.
Venezuelan citizens dance during a rally on the Colombia-Venezuela border after the confirmation of Nicolás Maduro’s capture in Caracas. Credit: Getty Images
But the US Constitution theoretically stops Trump from acting like a warlord. He has also violated international law by blowing up boats he claimed were smuggling drugs and then sanctioning the slaughter of defenceless crew in the water in direct contravention of US laws and the Geneva Conventions.
The US has been meddling in South and Central America since it established the Monroe Doctrine in 1823 to warn off European empires from colonial adventures in the neighbourhood. Venezuela is but the latest apparition of American imperialism.
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Over the years, US companies such as the United Fruit Company promoted so many coups in the Western hemisphere that some presidents felt obliged to try their hand at colonisation. Among them:
Theodore Roosevelt sent troops to Cuba in 1908; John Kennedy’s most egregious failure was his 1961 backing for Cuban anticommunist exiles in a failed attempt at the Bay of Pigs to overthrow Fidel Castro; Ronald Reagan backed a failed coup in 1982 against the socialist-influenced Sandinista government in Nicaragua and invaded Grenada the following year; George Bush went into Panama in 1989 and removed Manuel Noriega.
In the latter half of the 20th century, the US propped up a parade of dictators, including Chile’s Augusto Pinochet and Haiti’s Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, to counter socialist or communist elements with popular support.
Apart from claiming Maduro was implicated in drug cartels, Trump’s justification for invading Venezuela has been overwhelmed by his trademark tough guy blathering. Many believe oil is the target. Some in the US regard Maduro’s removal as a leaf from Bush’s book in kidnapping and jailing Noriega on drug charges to secure the Panama Canal.
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However, Trump’s warmongering without any semblance of international legitimacy is a dangerous and illegal gambit that undermines America’s leadership in the world and looms as a direct threat to Australia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made all the right noises when news of the Trump’s latest misadventure broke, saying Australia had long held concerns about Venezuela. “We continue to support international law and a peaceful, democratic transition in Venezuela that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people,” Albanese said.
But Australian Defence strategists in Canberra must be war-gaming this weekend on the potential for Trump’s invasion to green-flag similar sorties by Russia and China on Ukraine and Taiwan and the impact on AUKUS and other alliances.
Trump’s dangerous latter-day imperialism puts America first and America alone.
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