The stunning U.S. military operation on January 3, 2026, that captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, was not merely a counternarcotics raid or an act to remove a dictator who had illegally assumed power after losing an election. It was a deliberate strike against the emerging multipolar world order. By removing Maduro from power, bringing him to face justice in New York on narco-terrorism charges, and signaling direct U.S. influence over Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, President Trump has sent an unmistakable message: The United States will not tolerate a global landscape where adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran carve out spheres of influence at America’s expense.
For years, champions of multipolarity have celebrated a world where power was held not just in Washington, but Beijing, Moscow, and other capitals across the globe, thereby fostering “balance” and reducing U.S. dominance and dependence. Venezuela, the holder of the world’s largest proven oil reserves at over 300 billion barrels, became a key battleground in this vision.
Sanctions-battered and desperate, under Maduro, Caracas deepened ties with China (its largest oil buyer), Russia (a military and economic backer), and Iran (a partner in evading sanctions). These arrangements directly undermined U.S. interests, particularly in confronting China. By taking in the bulk of Venezuela’s roughly 1 million barrels per day of oil, Beijing reduced its reliance on Middle Eastern chokepoints and blunted U.S. leverage over global energy markets. The result was a strategic foothold for China in the Western Hemisphere, with Russia and Iran benefiting as junior partners able to press American influence from close range.
The Trump administration’s actions shatter the illusion that the United States would tolerate an arrangement in which our enemies grow more powerful, while the West recedes. This daring, precision operation—covert access to the regime, a preemptive cyberattack, the striking of key sites, and the extraction of Maduro with no U.S. casualties—demonstrated unmatched American power projection. Trump made clear that the U.S. would be a leader during Venezuela’s transition, with American oil companies poised to invest billions in rebuilding infrastructure and ramping up production. This isn’t occupation for its own sake; it’s a strategic move to deny resources to enemies who threaten our allies and our interests. By redirecting Venezuelan oil toward Western markets, the U.S. insulates itself and allies from supply shocks, depresses global prices to hurt rivals like Russia, and starves China of a key non-market supplier. OPEC’s influence over global oil markets is expected to diminish, while boosting America’s standing.
Critics howl about imperialism and international law violations, yet these objections ring hollow in a world where multipolarity has already been weaponized against the West. The outrage also ignores how power is actually accumulated in the modern era, not through conquest alone, but through capital, leverage, and control of chokepoints. This is particularly true of China, which has worked extensively to lock up global resources by financing ports, mines, and infrastructure in cash-strapped countries, then leveraging debt and political pressure to secure long-term control. This has allowed Beijing to crowd out sovereignty through the capture of supply chains. Venezuela was a key cog in this operation, as China extended billions in loans through state banks, and repayment came largely in the form of discounted crude. Simply, this cheap oil allowed China to buy time, scale power, and fund ambition with the sole purpose of diminishing the West.
A multipolar world may sound equitable in theory, but in practice, it empowers autocrats to exploit weaknesses in democratic systems. Trump’s Venezuela intervention rejects that paradigm outright. It reasserts unipolar primacy in the Western Hemisphere, a modern Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, ensuring no adversary establishes footholds that threaten U.S. security or energy dominance. As oil flows shift under American guidance, the message to Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran is clear: Challenges to U.S. hegemony will be met with decisive force.
This is not the end of great-power competition, but a reminder that America retains the will and capability to shape outcomes. In denying rivals Venezuela’s riches, the U.S. has tipped the scales back toward a world ordered on its terms—one where multipolarity remains a distant, unachievable dream for those who oppose freedom and prosperity under Western leadership.
Meaghan Mobbs, Ph.D., is the director of the Center for American Safety and Security at Independent Women and president of the R.T. Weatherman Foundation. She also serves as a presidential appointee to the United States Military Academy Board of Visitors.
