In 1823, U.S. President James Monroe articulated the Monroe Doctrine. It told European countries that they were no longer welcome to plunder the Americas, and that the U.S. would see any European interference in the North and South America as a threat. Why is there no equivalent to the Monroe when it comes to Venezuela which is a clear threat to North and South America?
We know that Venezuela has been integrally involved in the creation and support of Tren de Aragua, a vicious and deadly drug and human trafficking gang. Tren de Aragua has spread across South America and now into the United States. It is clearly a threat throughout the region and an invasion force that has crossed America’s southern border. Why are we not treating Venezuela as a threat to the United States? Why are we just dealing with the Tren de Aragua as a gang and leaving the Venezuelan government to continue to spread its planned chaos? Essentially, why are we accommodating invasion rather than attacking the source of invasion?
While I am glad to see that the Trump administration is rounding up this destructive gang, we are not punishing the Venezuelan nation and its leadership. We allow Venezuela to continue its behavior and suffer no consequences other than economic inconvenience – like the recently proposed 25% tariff on any nation that imports Venezuelan oil and gas. (Notably, Venezuela’s current anti American leadership under Maduro stole the Venezuelan presidential election. While there were lots of complaints about the theft, nothing of substance has been done. Not surprisingly, Maduro has no compunction about allowing and facilitating chaos.)
If we are serious, we shouldn’t just warn Maduro, or transport and then sustain his gang members at our expense to some prison in El Salvador. We should shut the door on his behavior. A carrier task force accompanied by marine transports and submarines with cruise missiles located off the Venezuelan coast is more than just a warning. Tell Maduro that plane loads of his Tren de Aragua invaders would be landed and offloaded at the Caracas airport These transport planes would then be taking off to collect and bring more of the Tren de Aragua members to Caracas. Specifically tell him that any interference would be considered an act of war. (No more symbolism of deporting his gangs after they have done their damage on American soil.)
President Trump is a tough guy who needs to consider a full range of options to deal with this situation. Past history tells us that a lack of substantive action encourages more evil and leads to more lost lives.
While we are focused on Ukraine and the mid-East, there is a substantive problem right in our hemisphere caused by Venezuela and its worldwide allies. Monroe would not have permitted this and neither should we. (Notably, the Monroe Doctrine existed until Democrat Secretary of State, John Kerry, stated “The era of the Monroe Doctrine is over.” This rejection occurred in 2013 at an OAS meeting. Therefore, the Monroe Doctrine lasted nearly 200 years.)
