Following the early-morning capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, President Donald Trump held a press conference in which he described the operation as consistent with the US foreign policy known as the Monroe Doctrine, which has guided the country for more than 200 years.
Also Read: ‘No blood for oil’, Global protests erupt against Trump’s strikes on Venezuela | See photos
Trump mentions ‘Donroe Doctrine’
On January 3, President Trump spoke about the Monroe Doctrine, describing it as a long-standing principle of US foreign policy. He said the operation that removed the Venezuelan President not only followed the doctrine but also went further. Trump alleged that Venezuela was “hosting foreign adversaries” and “acquiring offensive weapons,” and accused the country of seizing and selling American oil assets, as reported by USA Today.
He said, “All of these actions were in gross violation of the core principles of American foreign policy, dating back more than two centuries.” He continued, “All the way back, dated to the Monroe doctrines. And the Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we’ve superseded it by a lot, by a real lot. They now call it the Donroe doctrine.”
More than a decade after then-US Secretary of State John Kerry, under former President Barack Obama, declared that the “era of the Monroe Doctrine is over,” Trump is now embracing the policy.
What is the Monroe Doctrine?
The Monroe Doctrine, named after its architect, former President James Monroe, in 1823, is considered one of the most consequential US foreign policy agendas of the 19th century. It began as a largely symbolic statement expressing American opposition to new or expanding European involvement in the Americas, following centuries of colonial activity in the region.
Over time, it became a central element of US foreign policy toward the region, though academics and policymakers have increasingly criticized it for being used to justify interventions in Latin America, according to USA Today.
The doctrine framed South and Central America as a strategic “backyard” for the United States, a region the government viewed as falling under American influence rather than European.
However, the doctrine’s principles continued to evolve under ater administration. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt introduced the “Roosevelt Corollary,” which asserted that the United States had the right to intervene in teh Americas under certain circumstances.
According to the Department of State’s Office of the Historian, the doctrine was used to justify US interventions in Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. US Marines were sent to Santo Domingo in 1904, Nicaragua in 1911, and Haiti in 1915, “ostensibly to keep the Europeans out,” as per the National Archives.