The world has entered a new era, and its motto is written in all-caps on the US State Department’s X feed: "THIS IS OUR HEMISPHERE." Following the brazen military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump has unveiled a foreign policy that strips away the veneer of international law to reveal the raw iron of imperial ambition.

Flying back from Florida on Air Force One, a giddy Trump regaled reporters with details of the operation, declaring that the US is now "in charge" of Venezuela. But he didn't stop there. He issued notices to Cuba ("ready to fall") and Colombia ("run by a sick man"), signaling that the Monroe Doctrine—the 19th-century policy asserting US dominance over the Americas—is back with a vengeance.

The "Smash and Grab" Strategy

Critics are calling it "gangster geopolitics." The capture of Maduro was not sanctioned by the UN; it was a unilateral snatch-and-grab. Trump’s open discussion of seizing Venezuela’s oil ("we’re taking it, it’s ours") treats a sovereign nation as a distressed asset in a bankruptcy sale.

• The Rationale: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller went on CNN to articulate the new philosophy. "International law is a polite fiction," he argued. "The only law that matters is national interest." This dismissal of the rules-based order is terrifying allies and enemies alike.
• The Greenland Connection: The strategy extends to the Arctic. Trump’s demand to "own" Greenland is part of the same worldview: territory is a commodity, and the US has the biggest wallet (and the biggest guns).
• Domestic Reception: While the world recoils, Trump’s base is energized. The operation was bloodless for US troops (though deadly for Venezuelans), and the promise of cheap gas is a potent political drug. The Democrats, caught off guard by the sheer audacity of the move, are struggling to formulate a response that doesn't sound weak.

A Dangerous Precedent

By normalizing the forcible removal of foreign leaders and the annexation of resources, Trump is setting a precedent that other powers—Russia, China—will inevitably cite. If the US can take Venezuela because it "needs" the oil, why can't China take Taiwan because it "needs" the chips?

The "Trump Doctrine 2.0" is not about democracy or human rights. It is about power, pure and naked. As the President leans on the bulkhead of Air Force One, planning his next acquisition, the world is holding its breath.