The Re-Assertion of the Monroe Doctrine
- GW College Republicans
- Jan 19
- 2 min read
Nathan Kaufman, MN - Guest Writer
Early on the morning of Jan. 3, Special Forces stormed and captured former president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, in the highest-risk special forces mission since the Bin Laden raid. This operation followed a significant military buildup in the Caribbean and is reminiscent of Teddy Roosevelt's foreign policy: “to strike only when prepared to strike hard.”
The raid, and its preceding airstrikes, took around three hours and resulted in no loss of life for American forces. All of this culminated with the successful extraction of Maduro, who is now awaiting trial in New York City for federal narco-terrorism charges.
American intervention in this region of the world is nothing new, and as the undisputed hegemon of this region, it is up to us to ensure American interests are protected. By removing Maduro in a show of force, Trump has reaffirmed the Monroe Doctrine under what he calls the “Donroe Doctrine.”
Additionally, in vowing to give American companies access to Venezuela’s $17.3 trillion oil deposits, Trump has decisively acted to ensure American resource security. With the guiding hand of America, Venezuela can pull off a Pinochet-style success and make Venezuela Great Again.
As soon as this operation was announced, Democrats immediately began to seethe and labeled it as “illegal” and “unjustified.” However, the lack of a declaration of war means that congressional approval is not necessary. As for the justification for the strike, Latin America is America’s backyard; it is its duty to act to safeguard American interests in the region. Venezuela has long been aligned with our adversaries. As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “any South American country in enemy hands would always constitute a jumping-off point for attack.” This preemptive strike has effectively neutralized the threat that our adversaries pose to the New World.
The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine states that the United States has the right to intervene in countries that “loosen the ties of civilized society.” Civilized societies do not smuggle drugs on fishing boats, civilized societies do not use state-sponsored death squads to kill political opponents, civilized societies act civilized - which Maduro's Venezuela seems to have forgotten.
Trump has shown that America is not afraid to assert itself militarily, he has shown that America will no longer be beholden to leftist moralists and third-world Marxists, and all in a manner that would have made Monroe and Roosevelt proud. One thing is for sure: the West can sleep better knowing that an adversary of freedom rots behind bars and that America is ready to defend its hemisphere.
