Donald Trump’s second term as president has brought a myriad of controversial policy actions, ranging from gutting foreign aid to imposing tariffs on close trading partners and threatening to annex Greenland by force, not least among them. However, the administration’s most legally questionable decision has been military strikes against alleged drug boats from Colombia and Venezuela in the Caribbean, something that has led to war crimes accusations from his Democratic opposition.
Trump 2.0’s strategy in Latin America has been condemned abroad, especially by European allies. The British Ministry of Defense declined to provide assistance to the American strikes on Caribbean traffickers. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot warned that the United States “violates international law” with its strikes on suspected drug boats.
The daring special operations mission that followed the boat strikes attracted outrage from all quarters of the European political ecosystem. Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a consistent critic of American foreign policy, lashed out at Washington’s operation to remove Maduro. At the supernational level, the European Union’s global policy coordinator warned that the operation risked further destabilizing Venezuela. Even Trump’s transatlantic allies, such as Nigel Farage, Marine Le Pen, and Viktor Orban, all condemned the special operation.
Europe should be less critical of Trump since it is a prime beneficiary of his actions in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Chavista government has positioned itself as a close ally of Vladimir Putin and his ongoing war against Ukraine. Nicholas Maduro’s regime has provided cover to Moscow’s influence efforts in exchange for arms. This exchange has also fueled Russia’s ongoing military efforts, with Venezuelan infrastructure serving as an overseas outpost for Moscow’s oil industry.
The American strikes on Venezuela soften Caracas’s support for Putin’s war machine. The follow-on removal of the hardline Nicholas Maduro from power puts pressure on interim President Delcy Rodriguez to distance her government from Russia, China, and Iran. Rodriguez is in a weak position following Maduro’s removal, and one of the White House’s key demands is that she distance herself from Moscow. Trump’s strikes create the possibility that resource-rich Venezuela will no longer back Russian operations in Ukraine, as a further condition of relief.
The failure of Russian-made air defenses to protect Nicholas Maduro further underscores the spectacular erosion of Moscow’s capabilities, which began with the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Trump has laid bare to Europe’s leading countries that Russia is a weak power, incapable of defending its interests not only in the near abroad but also elsewhere. Washington has also demonstrated that it can strike hostile actors deep within their own countries, and that any escalation by Putin against NATO will come at an impossible cost to Moscow.
Although Trump’s violent end to Maduro’s rule is unpopular among EU elites, the raid will address voter concerns. Mass migration is a top political priority from Ireland to Greece, and asylum seekers from Venezuela are a growing source of migration to the EU. Venezuela’s economic implosion since 2008 has been felt in Europe, as emigration from the South American nation now ranks alongside the years-long exodus from Syria’s civil war as one of the largest refugee movements since 1945.
Venezuelans are now the second-largest asylum-seeking nationality in the European Union, after Afghans. Maduro's capture has sparked renewed hope among the Venezuelan diaspora that the country's situation will improve. These optimistic feelings may have some basis, as the Rodríguez government appears to be caving to Trump’s demands to reduce political oppression and economic cronyism. Removing Maduro may ease pressures on EU member states by eliminating a source and enabler of transnational migration.
Lastly, Washington’s ongoing pressure campaign on Venezuela aims to stop the flow of illicit drugs from West Africa to Europe. While the Trump Administration is incorrect in stating that Venezuela serves as the top narcotics provider to the U.S., the incumbent regime provides an illicit pipeline to Europe via West Africa. This ongoing trade funds a host of nefarious actors, including Islamic extremists and, at least indirectly, the Kremlin’s infamous Wagner Group. Venezuela serves as a vital trafficking route for cocaine destined for Europe. Maduro’s removal can help de-escalate this illegal trade.
Even though Europe’s policy elites may dislike Trump and accuse him of legal violations over his ongoing moves in Latin America, they still benefit from his unilateralism despite their entrenched opposition to it. The leading European states are grappling with the geopolitical ramifications of Venezuela’s slow-motion collapse, including second-order effects such as drug trafficking and mass migration that are felt within their borders.
Despite Trump’s bluster over Greenland and harsh criticism of the European project, he has shown a far greater willingness to defend transatlantic interests. The use of force against Venezuela demonstrates that the U.S. can remain viable in its own hemisphere and can do so with lasting impacts elsewhere. This is a powerful signal to Western adversaries that endanger European security, including not only Russia but also China, Iran, and other problematic states.
Kevin Brown currently works in Washington, DC. He has an MSc in International History from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). The author has previously published in The National Interest, The American Conservative, and The Diplomat, among others.
