January 5, 2026

Saturday’s attack on Venezuela, the abduction of President Maduro, and his being brought, handcuffed, to New York was a shock to the world. This was a brazen violation of international law. Moreover, President Trump’s press conference about  Operation Absolute Resolve and the future must have been a second, and even a greater shock.

Trump began his remarks by declaring that the operation was one of the most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American military might and competence in history. [i]

He said the US is ready to launch a second, much larger attack if the need arises, adding that the first attack was so successful that a second may not be needed, although preparations are in place for a second, much bigger wave. He did not rule out “boots on the ground”.

He stressed that his administration is reasserting American power in its home region; that his administration has superseded the Monroe doctrine; that they now call it the “Donroe doctrine”; adding that under America’s new national security strategy, American dominance in the Western hemisphere will never be questioned again.

He said the US would run the country until a safe, proper, and judicious transition.

He stated that the Venezuelan oil industry was built with American talent, drive, and skill, and the socialist regime stole it through force. He added that American oil companies would go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken oil infrastructure, but they would be reimbursed.

He also said the embargo on all Venezuelan oil remains in full effect.

Hegseth, calling Trump “a commander-in-chief the world respects and the American people deserve”, said no other president has ever shown this kind of leadership, courage, and resolve, adding that America can project its will anywhere, anytime.

Marco Rubio said the 47th President of the US is not a game player. When he says that he’s going to do something, he means it, and he does it.

In response to a question as to the mechanism that will govern Venezuela, Trump said that they are designating people. He later said that this would largely be for a certain period of time and mentioned to the people standing right behind him.

Yesterday, The Washington Post said, “Rubio takes on most challenging role yet: Viceroy of Venezuela.”[ii]

And Rubio, in an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC’s This Week, was asked under what legal authority the US  was going to govern Venezuela. He said, “… we have a quarantine on their oil.  That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States, and the interests of the Venezuelan people are met.  And that’s what we intend to do…”[iii]

In other words, Venezuela’s oil industry will remain blocked until Venezuelans learn to behave.

Rubio had campaigned in 2015 to become the Republican Party’s presidential candidate but withdrew from the race when he finished second, after Trump, in the primary of his home state of Florida. Perhaps, he intends to make a second try in 2028.

At Saturday’s press conference, after issuing a warning to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Trump said, “Cuba is gonna be something we’ll end up talking about.” Marc Rubio intervened and added, “Cuba is a disaster. It’s, it’s run by incompetent, senile men, and, and, and in some cases, not senile but incompetent nonetheless.”

Thus, the big question now is “What follows next?”

Although much remains to unfold, one may still draw some preliminary conclusions from Operation Absolute Resolve and what was said at Trump’s press conference:

• The Trump administration is now engaged in a regime-change project. Yet the experience of past interventions shows that such projects have brought neither peace nor stability to targeted countries.
• The operation and what follows will reflect negatively on the US’s global image and its long-term interests.
• The so-called “rules-based international order” will no longer appear in Washington’s foreign and security policy public discourse.[iv]
• President Trump’s remarks on the stolen American contribution to Venezuela’s oil amply show that this project is not about narcotics but oil.
• Venezuela holds one of the largest oil reserves in the world.
• Other than petroleum, the country’s natural resources include natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, diamonds, and other minerals.
• Brazil, Colombia, and Cuba have reacted strongly to the US attack. Argentina’s support for the operation must have surprised no one.
• Russia, despite having enjoyed close relations with President Maduro, will see this as a development justifying its invasion of Ukraine and its “near abroad” policy and will not react in a significant way.
• Towards the end of his press conference, probably to strike a positive note, Trump said, “I’m not thrilled with Putin. I’m not thrilled with Putin. He’s killing too many people.”
• China will also see the operation as a justification for a future intervention in Taiwan. According to Blomberg, President Trump’s capture of Venezuelan leader Maduro has sparked widespread discussion on Chinese social media, with many users saying the operation offered a template for how Beijing could handle tensions with Taiwan. However, Beijing will continue to act with caution.
• Beijing knows that the Donroe doctrine’s major target is China, because China’s state firms are major investors in the region’s energy, infrastructure, and space industries, and the country has surpassed the United States as South America’s largest trading partner.[v]
• Beyond oblique references to international law, Europe will remain silent, as usual.
• Today, the UN is no more than a non-governmental organization, and the Security Council is only a debate forum. However, a draft resolution censoring the US attack can leave some countries with tough choices.

On Saturday, in a statement by Foreign Minister Lavrov,  Russia strongly urged the US leadership to reconsider its position and release the legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse. He also urged resolving any existing issues between the US and Venezuela through dialogue.

China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson stated the following:

“China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the U.S.’s blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president. Such hegemonic acts of the U.S. seriously violate international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region. China firmly opposes it. We call on the U.S. to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop violating other countries’ sovereignty and security.”

In brief, President Trump is no longer a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

His autocratic tendencies are no secret. And on Saturday, when Trump was asked a question about prior notification of the attack to Congress, Rubio intervened and said that this was just not the kind of mission that could be pre-notified because it could endanger it. Then Trump said, “Congress has a tendency to leak… Congress will leak, and we don’t want leakers.”

Do Congressional leaders deserve such humiliation? To a large extent, they do because the Republicans no longer seem to care about the separation of powers, the cornerstone of democracy, and the Democrats are in disarray, both putting American democracy in decline.

Perhaps, had he two consecutive four-year terms, Trump could even try creating George Orwell’s superstate “Oceania” in the Western Hemisphere. The problem is that in Nineteen Eighty-Four, there are also Eurasia and Eastasia, the latter probably dominated by the people of China.

[i] https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-press-conference-venezuela-maduro-january-3-2026/

[ii] https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/01/04/rubio-venezuela-maduro/?utm_campaign=wp_news_alert_revere_trending_now&utm_medium=email&utm_source=alert&location=alert

[iii] https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/01/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-with-george-stephanopoulos-of-abcs-this-week/

[iv] https://diplomaticopinion.com/2021/05/10/the-rules-based-international-order/

[v] https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-influence-latin-america-argentina-brazil-venezuela-security-energy-bri