Fareed Zakaria describes the 2026 capture of Nicolás Maduro as a seismic "rupture" in global order. He argues that by prioritizing commercial oil access over traditional goals like democracy or human rights, the Trump administration has replaced modern diplomacy with 19th-century imperialism. This "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine signals a shift where the U.S. asserts a unilateral right to dismantle neighboring regimes to secure its own business interests.
This bold intervention shatters long-standing international norms against territorial and political interference. Zakaria warns that while removing a dictator is easy, the "Real Power" challenge is managing the aftermath. By acting without U.N. or congressional consent, the U.S. may have inadvertently opened the door for rivals like Russia and China to justify their own aggressive spheres of influence.
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