Government of Venezuela, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This is the name given to the latest burst of US Foreign Policy as espoused by Donald Trump. So far it has resulted in a raid on Venezuela to kidnap Nicholas Maduro and his wife. It is not going to stop there. The US is (has been for a while) casting covetous eyes on Greenland, presently run by Denmark, warned the Columbian President his days are numbered and this implies the Mexican President needs to get her house in order.
This Doctrine is basically an extension of the Monroe Doctrine, first declared by President James Monroe in 1823. It essentially states that the European colonial powers need to keep their noses out of the Americas and by extension the Yanks will keep their mitts off of the rest of the world.
Since the American Revolution that led to the founding of the United States there had always been a feeling that they were fed up with Colonial powers poking their noses in. The end of the Napoleonic Wars had led to many of Spain’s colonies declaring and fighting Spain for independence, though to be fair, they then made a bit of a hash of it fighting each other for years. The pope had split the Americas in two between Spain and Portugal 1493/4, Portugal got Brazil and Spain got the rest.
Of course that leaves 2 of the 3 Guyanas and the Caribbean Islands split between the UK, France, Holland, the Danes (no longer, now the US Virgin Islands) and probably a few others.
In 1823 the United States did not have a big enough Navy or Army to police this and it wasn’t until 1904 when Teddy Roosevelt decided the US was powerful enough to act as the continent’s policeman. For 80 years colonial powers still did their thing though probably much reduced when compared to what they likely would have done.
One of the most notable interferences came from France when, it has to be said by invitation, they installed Maximilian as the Emperor of Mexico though he only survived for 3 years. There were even threats from the Russians who at that time owned Alaska until the septics bought it for $7 million.
Between 1846 and 1924 the US Intervened in Mexico, Cuba, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Years later many of you will remember the Grenada invasion and the attack on Panama to nab Noriega. The well attested hatred of the gringos probably comes from this period.
The kidnapping of Maduro is just the latest in a fairly long list of disputes that resulted in the US military punching Johhny Foreigner on the nose.
Since being re-elected in 2024, the Donald has been pushing the line that the American continent is for Americans and Americans only. He has effectively declared war on the drug cartels and seeing as much of the money is laundered through banks in British colonies, he may well try to force us to hand over or free some of our few remaining colonies. I feel this augurs badly for the Falklands, his great mate Milei will already be expecting to get the Falkland Islands one way or another and we have to suspect that Spanner would pay him to take them off our hands.
The Donroe Doctrine has not been officially announced but it seems to consist of keeping any foreign influences away. Venezuela had big Chinese and Iranian influences and even, some say, a kind of military presence. None of this was aimed at supporting the US in its daily life.
As it unfolds it appears that Trump’s credo is we have the biggest stick and we will use it to hit anyone who doesn’t accept that. I can easily live with the US retreating into its own hemisphere but will we see the end of its more than 750 military bases around the world. That part may happen eventually but it will take some considerable time. Until that happens it looks like they may well strike Iran again and a few other places.
There are many theories that the kidnapping of Maduro was his negotiated exit strategy and that the Venezuelan military turned a blind eye and didn’t resist. We won’t know for sure until the full story emerges, if ever, but it sounds more than plausible. Maduro’s personal bodyguard was entirely Cuban and they were all killed during the raid but there were very few local casualties.
© well_chuffed 2026
