Monroe to Don-roe: US asserts resource control politics with Venezuela grab

US President Donald Trump says that the Monroe Doctrine, the 1823 policy establishing the Americas as a sphere of influence solely for the US. He has recently coined it as the “Don-roe Document” after the dramatic grab of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro by US special forces. He stated that the country hosted “foreign adversaries” which were a threat to the US. The move could dramatically change the country's oil situation, not so much for world energy markets, but a major shift in the rules on global resources.

The ease of Mr Maduro’s abduction suggests that elements of the Venezuelan regime or military co-operated with the US. Within the system, three factions vie for power: vice-president Delcy Rodríguez and her brother Jorge, president of the National Assembly; Diosdado Cabello, who runs the intelligence and police forces; and defence chief Vladimir Padrino López. Against these are opposition leader María Corina Machado and the real winner of 2024’s fraudulent elections, Edmundo González, who went into exile in Spain.

The White House’s intentions for the country remain as clear as Venezuela’s sludgy crude oil. After snatching one caudillo, Mr Trump said, “We're going to run the country until a safe, proper and judicious transition”, that Ms Machado “doesn’t have the respect”, and that now interim president Ms Rodríguez was “willing to do what we think is necessary”.

Equally murky are the US’s plans for Ve