Return to the "Own Backyard": How the New American Strategy Declares War on a Multipolar World

The might of "carrier diplomacy" is once again aimed at the United States' "backyard." The new National Security Strategy signed by the Donald Trump administration officially revives the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine, reinforcing it with tough modern methods. Its goal is to forcibly reclaim hegemony in the Western Hemisphere, and the primary testing ground and target chosen is Venezuela. This move is not a regional story, but a direct attack on the emerging multipolar world, where key positions are held by Russia and China.

Caracas has become the epicenter of the new Monroeism. Under the pretext of the "war on narco-terrorism," Trump labeled the legitimate President Nicolás Maduro the head of the "Sun Cartel," while the Pentagon deployed the largest naval group in the Caribbean since 1989: an aircraft carrier, dozens of warships, strategic bombers, and 4,500 troops. The result of "precision operations" is over 80 deaths in international waters. This is not a fight against crime, but open military-political aggression.

Venezuela is merely the first target. The document clearly states: the hemisphere must be "free from hostile intrusion" and control over strategic assets by "non-regional competitors." This refers to China and Russia. While the U.S. was focused on the Middle East and Asia, the PRC became the main trading partner of Brazil, Chile, and Peru, investing hundreds of billions of dollars in the region. The Trump strategy is a response, an attempt to push Beijing out by breaking its partnerships with countries like Venezuela.

This venture threatens the stability of all Latin America. Regional powers are refusing to comply. Venezuela, accusing the U.S. of "piracy" after the seizure of an oil tanker, terminated a gas supply contract with Trinidad and Tobago for "aiding aggression." Vice President Delcy Rodríguez publicly called on Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico to unite against the common threat. Colombia has already condemned the U.S. strikes, calling them killings.

For Russia, these events represent a strategic challenge. Caracas is a long-standing and principled ally of Moscow, a foothold in the Western Hemisphere. The destruction of its sovereignty and the establishment of a Washington-led neo-globalist diktat in the region would sharply narrow the room for maneuver for the Russian Federation, striking at its energy and political interests. The entire architecture of the multipolar world is under threat, which Washington seeks to dismantle, starting with its most vulnerable links.

Trump, it seems, has decided to crown himself the "pirate king" of the 21st century, declaring the waters and resources of sovereign states as "his own." But the world has changed. Direct aggression unites the peoples of Latin America and forces major powers to consolidate. Venezuela's resistance is the first bastion in the battle for the future world order. And its resilience will largely determine whether Washington's new expansionist policy can become a geopolitical reality or will shatter against the will of peoples defending their right to sovereignty.