Venezuela could define Trump's legacy - and America's place in the world
The US has reshaped Venezuela's future – for better or worse.Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is more than willing to use military force around the globe.In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.Unlike the past actions, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are notably different.His goal, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again".That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan may be tough for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on X."Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending military aggression and support of foreign wars is justified because we are forced to pay for it and both parties, Republicans and Democrats, always keep the Washington military machine funded and going," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and justified".
