Meet the ‘Donroe Doctrine,’ a foreign policy created by the very worst US president ever.
[This article first appeared at Common Dreams on January 5 2026.]
During rambling remarks on January 3, President Donald Trump announced that the United States had bombed Venezuela, “captured” President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and gained control of that country’s oil reserves.
Now what? Trump has no idea, but historical precedent portends disaster.
The Dubious Legal Basis
As with his bombing of alleged drug-smuggling boats that have killed at least 115 civilians, Trump offered no justification under international law for his actions:
· The operation was not “self-defense” because Venezuela did not “attack” the United States.
· Calling Maduro a “narco-terrorist” did not render him or his country an “imminent” national security threat. In fact, Venezuela is a relatively small player in the international cocaine market and has no role in fentanyl – the primary killer in overdose deaths.
· Trump used the word “oil” more than 20 times in his speech. Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. Fifty years ago – in 1976 – it nationalized U.S. companies’ oil assets and facilities through a negotiated legal process that netted the firms more than $1 billion. Reversing that nationalization is an absurd – and dangerous – hook on which to hang the military attack in 2026.
Repeatedly, Trump invoked the Monroe Doctrine, saying that he had expanded it “by a lot.” But in fact, Trump has stood President James Monroe’s 1823 seminal proclamation on its head while emboldening China’s President Xi and Russia’s President Putin to follow Trump’s lead in dictating the affairs of sovereign countries.
Monroe v. “Donroe”
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