This week ushered in a new era in American foreign policy with the highly successful military operation in Venezuela to remove the fraudulently elected dictator Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife, Cilia Flores, from their residence and bring them to the United States to stand trial on four criminal charges: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
This was not a terribly surprising move, given the events of the fall leading up to the Jan. 3 early morning raid. 36 military strikes against alleged drug boats have been conducted since August, killing at least 115 people. Venezuela’s opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, escaped the country in a secret mission last month and popped up in Norway to accept her Nobel Peace Prize and dedicate it to President Trump.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in his public remarks, has made very diplomatic-sounding comments about the people of Venezuela and their future. It can be easy to listen to Rubio and think this is like other efforts in Kuwait, or the Balkans, or even the long slogs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We need to keep listening to all the voices coming out of the White House. While Rubio may be pursuing a cause close to his heart as the child of Cuban immigrants, this is not an operation that is following a transition to self-governance anytime soon. It is a flex of American power and the demonstration of open interest in strategic resources.
Just looking at Venezuela by itself right now, there are already some interesting and initially positive global repercussions. China sees a threat to one of its major oil markets and a check to its sabre-rattling against Taiwan. Iran, after weeks of protests, sees potential threats to its regime.
For Russia, the quick in-and-out success of the military operation contrasts unfavorably with its invasion of Ukraine, which is about to enter its fourth year and has cost Russia over a million casualties. Maduro is also a key ally of Vladimir Putin. Further, if the U.S. takes control of the Venezuelan oil industry, oil prices could reach $50/barrel, which would be devastating to Russia’s already burdened economy.
(It would also be quite bad for New Mexico.)
But there is more to this story. This is not nation-building as the U.S. has attempted it in the past. There is not much of a pathway forward for anything in Venezuela except opening its oil industry to American companies. Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, an avowed socialist but with deep knowledge of the oil industry, has taken power, and appears to have the support of the U.S. as long as she meets White House demands.
Rodríguez is no dummy. In 2017, as Venezuela’s foreign minister, she directed Citgo, a division of the state oil company, to make a $500,000 donation to Trump’s first inauguration. While her charm offensive didn’t immediately pay off, it did make her a prominent face in business and diplomatic circles.
Machado, despite her handpicked candidate being the actual winner of the 2024 Venezuelan election by huge margins (confirmed by the U.S. and leading democracies at the time), is considered by the White House to lack the “respect” required to run Venezuela. That is, she can’t deliver the oil fast enough or might be too distracted by trying to rebuild the institutions of democracy.
It’s quite unclear whether Rodríguez can deliver it fast enough. It will take more than $100 billion to restore the Venezuelan oil industry to pre-nationalization production levels. Letting American companies in is not the same as convincing those companies to open their wallets in a global oil market that is flat and expected to decline. Corporate boards are a far tougher sell than the interim president of Venezuela.
Rubio is already setting the course for the next rumble in White House geopolitics. The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 6 that in a closed briefing to members of Congress, Rubio announced that the intent for Greenland is a purchase transaction, not an invasion. Think Alaska in 1867. Throughout 2025, the CIA has been engaging pro-independence organizers in Greenland to build support for U.S. sovereignty/ownership.
Greenland’s importance is twofold: strategic minerals and Arctic access. Greenland has significant reserves of rare earth minerals, as well as graphite, zinc, iron, niobium, copper, nickel and uranium. Of particular interest would be the potential for tungsten exploitation, as China currently controls most of the tungsten market. All of these materials are crucial for defense, manufacturing and technology.
Greenland is also strategically located, offering access to key Russian submarine traffic corridors and Arctic access from the other side of the world, from Alaska, as polar ice continues to recede.
The White House is hiding nothing here. This week also marks the fifth anniversary of the J6 riot, where thousands of Americans marched on the Capitol at the President’s behest to stop the counting of electoral votes that would officially declare the winner of the 2020 presidential election. The President refused for three hours to authorize the National Guard to assist the Capitol Police with restoring peace.
Among his first acts upon taking office in 2025 was to pardon more than 1,500 rioters convicted of crimes committed that day, where 174 police officers were injured, and more than $30 million in damage was caused to the Capitol.
Nothing about the events of the day or the pardons has been hidden. Nor has the creation of a Federal internal police force – ICE – or the attempts to deploy the National Guard to American cities. Americans should believe what they see and hear and not explain it away.
It is far simpler to advance both a domestic and a foreign policy agenda when one cares nothing for public opinion, nor the rhetoric of international law, nor government “for the people, by the people.”
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, currently serving as Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, for one, is impressed. “Team Trump is tough and cynical in advancing its country’s interests. Removing Maduro had nothing to do with drugs – only oil, and they openly admit this. The law of the strongest is clearly more powerful than ordinary justice.”
That really says it all, doesn’t it?
Merritt Hamilton Allen is a PR executive and former Navy officer. She appeared regularly as a panelist on NM PBS and is a frequent guest on News Radio KKOB. A Republican for 36 years, she became an independent upon reading the 2024 Republican platform. She lives amicably with her Democratic husband north of I-40 where they run one head of dog, and one of cat. She can be reached at news.ind.merritt@gmail.com.
I just love these broad Onion-like satirical pieces!