By Dr. Stephen Eric Bronner
In Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” (1940), a scene depicts his character “Adenoid Hynkel,” ruler of the anti-Semitic and fascist nation “Tomania,” juggling a giant globe balloon until it bursts. If our metaphorical balloon bursts, the fallout would surpass anything Charlie envisioned.
Since Donald Trump’s second term in 2024, his personality cult has surged. The Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts was renamed the Kennedy-Trump Center. Trump’s name is now on a new $300 million White House ballroom and other Washington buildings. He has proposed building an “Arc de Trump” and has named a new class of Navy battleships after himself.
While campaigning, Trump vowed no new wars and the end of the U.S. as “world’s policeman.” Yet, warning signs were present when he renamed the “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America,” sought Greenland from Denmark, and called on Canada to be the 51st state. He also renamed the Department of Defense the Department of War and, despite the cost-cutting led by Elon Musk’s DOGE, managed to pass a $1 trillion military budget, a first in history.
Trump’s public pursuit of the Nobel Prize failed. An Israeli Peace Prize and one from FIFA, both hastily created for him, served as embarrassing stand-ins. His failed attempts to broker peace in the Russia-Ukraine War, a fragile Gaza cease-fire, and international tensions stoked by his tariff policy were apparent.
Trump claimed to have ended eight wars globally, but evidence was lacking. Instead, it was clear the U.S. was involved in 622 air and drone strikes across seven countries in 2025: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. Trump, no advocate for international law or human rights, asserted his international decision-making was bound only by his own “morality.”
As 2026 begins, Trump has overtaken Venezuela, detained its president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, charging them with “narco-terrorism.” The U.S. launched 22 strikes, killing 110, attacking surrendering sailors, and shelling vessels without verifying drug transport. Congress wasn’t briefed or approved this act of war; it was orchestrated with oil executives, a war waiting for justification.
Why did Trump act? With slipping poll numbers, discontent among supporters, the Epstein files scandal, economic “affordability” crisis, healthcare reforms endangering millions, and anger over ICE tactics, Trump needed a dramatic move. In 2024, he demanded $1 billion from oil companies for his campaign; they contributed $75 million. Corporations expect returns, and a profitable surprise might ensure more generous future donations.
Trump’s quest to recreate a past golden age led him to cite the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 in justifying his Venezuelan policy. Traditionally, this document warned foreign powers against Western Hemisphere interference, suggesting Central and South America as the U.S.’s influence sphere. Trump radicalized it, announcing U.S. control over Venezuela until an “acceptable” sovereign is appointed and indefinitely controlling its oil and mineral sales.
Dubbed the “Donroe” Doctrine, Trump’s justifications are secondary. Despite deeming the Maduro regime a “narco-terrorism” agent leading fentanyl smuggling, Venezuela was only responsible for about 5% of fentanyl entering the U.S. Trump shifted narratives, from Maduro masterminding the cocaine plague to labeling him a war criminal for possessing weapons of mass destruction.
Americans often support interventions initially but tire when the costs accrue. Invading Venezuela could be a costly mistake. Parallels with the 2003 Iraq invasion are clear: oil allure, a dictator to topple, an exaggerated threat, assumed citizen gratitude for American “liberators,” and neglecting the chaos following regime change.
Maduro’s regime, though authoritarian and corrupt, Trump’s actions normalize disregard for international law, self-determination, and sovereignty. Labeling Maduro’s overthrow as an anti-narco-terrorism international police action doesn’t alter reality. Arbitrarily detaining world leaders instills fear, fosters Hobbesian “war of each against all,” heightening instability.
As seen in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, leaving nations leaderless leads to violent factionalism. Venezuela’s Supreme Court installed Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez as
Leave a Reply