U.S. President Donald Trump's shocking capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro shows his administration is serious about dominating the Western Hemisphere, observers say.
In its new national security strategy, released last month, Trump's administration laid out a plan for U.S. control of the hemisphere that pays little heed to traditional alliance-building.
It was put into practice Saturday with the U.S. military operation that led to Maduro's middle-of-the-night arrest in Caracas.
Calling himself a decent man and "the president of my country," Maduro pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in a New York courtroom Monday.
Former Quebec premier Jean Charest posted on social media that "the military operation in Venezuela confirms the new U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS), particularly towards the Americas and, therefore, Canada."
"Though no one has any sympathy for Maduro, Canadians should be concerned that, for President Trump, force is now a sufficient reason to impose his will on other countries," Charest wrote. "This operation demonstrates that it is imperative for Canada to reduce its economic and military dependence on the United States."
The U.S. national security document said the strategy "is motivated above all by what works for America — or, in two words, 'America First.'" It lays out a central goal of "American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere."
The strategy largely ignores Canada except when it mentions countries that should limit their trade with China.
The document — a stark departure from the Biden administration's strategy, which looked to strengthen alliances and serve as a check on Russia — critiqued long-standing European allies and reiterated the Monroe Doctrine.
The 1823 Monroe Doctrine was a U.S. foreign policy framework that rejected European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It was later used as justification for U.S. intervention in Latin America.
Trump cited the doctrine, calling it the "Don-roe Doctrine," to justify the Saturday operation in Venezuela.
"Under our new national security strategy, American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Saturday.
Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institute, said the action in Venezuela shows the Trump administration intends to do whatever it wants in the Western Hemisphere.
"The Trump administration conceives of its behaviour in the Western Hemisphere as not constrained by norms and only determined by the U.S. military might," Felbab-Brown said.
The U.S. military intervention in Venezuela spread alarm throughout the region and Trump has cited other countries — including Cuba and Colombia — that could face the same fate.
Trump also has revived his talk of taking over mineral-rich Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. He told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday that "we need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it."
There was swift pushback from Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who pointed out that her country is a NATO ally and a partner in Arctic security. Trump has also spoken repeatedly of his desire to annex Canada.
"Trump has not been speaking about Canada and his desire to make Canada a 51st state for some months, but it was really very notable how he returned to the Greenland drum the day after the actions in Venezuela, really feeling that the U.S. military has the capacity to do what it wants," said Felbab-Brown.
The Trump administration has made it very clear that it is focused on accessing resources in other countries and a lot of its policies are dominated "not by norms of democracy, not by norms of peace, but by the desire to control vital resources in the region," Felbab-Brown added.
"Canada is a sovereign country and U.S. suggestions that it should become a 51st state are preposterous and egregious," she said.
Adversaries and allies alike criticized the United States' actions in Venezuela at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday. Countries also condemned Maduro's regime, calling his 2018 and 2024 elections illegitimate.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz defended the Trump administration's actions, calling it a "surgical law enforcement operation."
"This is the Western Hemisphere," Waltz told the council. "This is where we live — and we're not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be used as a base of operation for our nation's adversaries, and competitors, and rivals of the United States."
Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
