Trump’s invasion of Venezuela is a warning to the world

President Donald J. Trump: “I watched it literally like I was watching a television show… If you would have seen the speed, the violence!”

Today, in the early morning hours, before addressing the American people about the military operation he had just ordered in Venezuela, Trump chose instead to give a telephone interview to Fox News and Fox & Friends Weekend. It was there that he described the invasion of another country, airstrikes, civilian deaths, and the capture and removal of a sitting president as a spectacle or entertainment, rather than acknowledging the far-reaching ramifications of a decision that carries irreversible human, legal, and geopolitical consequences.

In what we may look back on as the moment the world shifted, this action further destabilized the global order and left the United States and its allies more vulnerable than at any point in decades, signaling that the rules, norms, and limits that once governed state power no longer apply.

What makes this moment so dangerous is not only what Trump said, but what he deliberately did not do. He did not immediately address the nation after ordering airstrikes. He did not seek authorization from Congress, despite the War Powers Resolution requiring congressional approval for sustained military action abroad. He did not act with allies, and there was no United Nations mandate, a fact the UN Secretary-General has now warned sets a “dangerous precedent” under international law. There was no urgency that required bypassing these steps. It was a manufactured crisis.

History shows us exactly where this path leads. In Mussolini’s Italy and Franco’s Spain, power did not disappear overnight. It was normalized through bypassed institutions, sidelined legislatures, and the quiet redefinition of what counted as “necessary action.” In Nazi Germany, emergency powers were justified again and again as temporary, until the Reichstag no longer mattered and law existed only to serve the leader. Authoritarian power grows when the rules meant to restrain it are treated as optional, and when people are taught to see process as an inconvenience instead of a safeguard.

Watching this unfold, it is impossible not to feel deeply troubled for the future of not just the United States or Venezuela, but the entire world. Because when the most powerful country in the world breaks the rules, it gives permission for others to do the same.

If this was really about drugs, he would have said so. He would have laid out a plan to dismantle the trafficking networks, explained how the operation would actually stop the flow, and told the American people what comes next. He would have talked about securing the territory, keeping it stable, and making sure the drug trade couldn’t just rebuild itself the moment we leave. He would have said who’s taking over the government he just removed, how that transition would work, and how long U.S. troops are staying. That’s what a president says when the goal is to solve an issue he’s called simple and “easy to fix,” not to consolidate control and seize access to oil.

But Trump didn’t say any of that. What he did say was that Venezuela’s oil had been “stolen,” that American gas companies should come in and run their fuel, and that the United States would “run the country” until a new government is in place. Except there is no plan for that government, because none of this was about rebuilding Venezuela. It was about claiming it.

And when he was asked about it on Fox News, this is how he answered:

“As far as last night was concerned, it was really genius. What they did is genius. Democrats, maybe they’ll take a shot, you know, they’ll take a shot, all they do is complain. They don’t talk about, they should say, you know what, we did a great job. We’re stopping drugs from coming into this country and nobody’s been able to do it until we came along. But they should say great job. They shouldn’t say, oh, gee, maybe it’s not constitutional, you know, the same old stuff that we’ve been hearing for years and years and years.”

He didn’t explain how this stops the drug trade. He mocked the idea that the Constitution matters. He told his supporters it was “genius.” He called it a win. But none of this sounds like a mission to protect people. It sounds like the logic of someone who thinks he’s above the law, and who knows that no one around him is going to stop him.

And of course, none of this stops at Venezuela.

Trump is already floating the same plan for Cuba. It’s all part of the regime’s expanding blueprint for global control, and he’s now branding this imperialist vision the “Donroe Doctrine,” a narcissistic spin on the Monroe Doctrine, replacing history with his own name because he can’t stand not being the headline. His enablers know exactly how to bait him: hand him a shiny label, and he’ll chase it. Not because it’s smart policy, but because it flatters his ego.

This “doctrine” imagines the United States as the rightful ruler of the entire Western Hemisphere, where oil isn’t just a commodity, it’s the currency of dominance. And we already knew this was coming. When the Pentagon released that “National Security Strategy” document, the one dividing the world into spheres of influence, I wrote about it then because it spelled out exactly what they intended to do. The Americas were marked as ours. Europe was ceded to Russia. Asia handed to China. It looked cartoonish at the time. Now, not so much.

And he talks like American gas companies are entitled to reclaim and run foreign oil operations simply because they once did business there, ignoring the reality that commercial presence does not equate to ownership of land. It never has. But in Trump’s mind, he’s already rewritten the rules. He claims that the land tied to those oil ventures was “stolen,” that the oil itself was taken from us, and that we’re simply taking back what’s ours. It’s a lie, but it’s a convenient one. And his MAGA base is already parroting it, using that fiction to justify why their sons, daughters, and grandchildren might soon be deployed into yet another war, dragged into a conflict driven not by national interest, but by Trump’s obsession with power, oil, and the legacy he thinks he deserves.

But this isn’t just about oil. It’s also about legacy. Trump wants to be remembered like the other strongmen he idolizes. He thinks he’s playing on the same level as Putin and Xi. But they’re playing him. Russia had long-standing ties to Venezuela’s oil. Trump just blew them up. China had infrastructure and fuel deals lined up. Gone. And while Trump isolates the U.S. with this fantasy of strength, those two leaders, who are far more strategic, are quietly building deeper alliances with each other. We could very well end up in a global crisis with no one left to stand beside us.

Meanwhile, our troops are on the ground. Sent into another country with no strategy, leadership, or clear endgame. Trump believes he can bomb a nation, drag out its president, and call it success. But history tells us what happens next: backlash, instability, power vacuums, and the birth of extremists who will one day turn their eyes back on us. We’ve seen it in Afghanistan. Iraq. Libya. Syria. Every time we claimed to be fixing something. Every time we left it worse. And this is where the so-called “peace president” is sending our tax dollars.

And we can’t pretend this is only about oil or power. There’s another layer. There are still over five million Epstein-related documents waiting to be released. And I worry how many more wars does he have locked and loaded to bury the truth?

We cannot let this become the new normal. If we don’t push back now, Venezuela will only be the beginning. It will become a new foreign policy model. Just like Putin, Trump will not stop until he is forced to stop. This isn’t America First. This is America Unchecked.

Let me be clear about one more thing: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is a dictator. And I will never pretend otherwise. And the Venezuelan people deserve better. Better than him, and better than what we are doing now and plan to do in the months and years ahead. Because what’s coming isn’t freedom. It’s exploitation. Trump says he’ll give them a share of the oil profits. He won’t. He never intended to. He doesn’t care about them. He only wants more money, leverage, and power. Do they deserve a better leader? Yes. But not this way. Not through invasion. Not through regime change without any plan for what comes next.

And here’s the last thing I’ll leave you with. If today’s operation was really about stopping the drug trade, if it was truly about protecting American lives, why did Trump pardon Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, who was convicted of trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine into the U.S.? That’s it. That’s the whole story.

This was another dark day for the American people. Expect it to get worse. Trump has nothing to lose and everything to gain. But we do. We still have everything to lose, and everything to fight for. But as bleak as this moment feels, we are not out of time. More people are waking up each day to what Trump is doing. It’s not fast enough, and I feel that deeply, but it is happening. That means this fight isn’t over. We can still say no to fascism and make it stick. Congress is back in session this week. It might feel like a waste of time, but contact your representatives anyway. Keep the pressure on. They notice more than they admit. And make sure the people in your life know the truth, especially the ones still convinced this is about drugs. We have to stop the spread of the disinformation and propaganda if we are going to have a chance of pulling this country back from the edge.

I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather

P.S. If you’ve made it this far, chances are we see things the same way. You can make a difference right now by subscribing to my Substack. There is a free option and the option to help me reach a wider audience with a $5/month paid subscription. Your support allows me to cover more ground and keep telling the truth about the lies and destruction unfolding in our country.