The dawn of 2026 has been marked by a seismic shift in global power, as American forces invaded Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro. This unilateral action, ordered by Donald Trump, represents a catastrophic breach of international law and signals the effective end of the Western alliance in its current form, according to analysis by world affairs editor Sam Kiley.
A Night of Invasion Over Caracas
In the early hours of Saturday 3 January 2026, the skies above Caracas were filled with the roar of American military might. Chinook transport aircraft and Apache gunship escorts clattered through the darkness, their presence illuminated by a series of orange explosions that rocked military sites across the Venezuelan capital. Mere hours after the assault began, Donald Trump announced that President Maduro and his wife had been successfully "captured" and flown out of their country.
The move was swiftly celebrated within Trump's inner circle. Figures like Defence Secretary Peter Hegseth, whose focus often appears more on public displays of strength than strategic depth, offered effusive praise. However, beyond the walls of the White House and the echo chambers of its supporters, the action has been met with profound horror and recognised as a moment of strategic insanity.
The False Premise and Global Repercussions
Trump justified the invasion by labelling Venezuela a "narco-terrorist state" he claims has flooded the US with opiates and killed hundreds of thousands. This premise is fundamentally flawed; the primary opioid flow into the United States originates from Mexico, not Venezuela. The justification draws a direct and troubling parallel to the false claims of weapons of mass destruction used to invade Iraq under Saddam Hussein—an action that spawned decades of conflict and gave rise to the Islamic State.
By acting without a shred of international support, Trump has emulated the tactics of his ally, Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine in 2014 under the pretence of protecting Russian speakers. Furthermore, Trump's America has itself mirrored Russia's playbook by politicising its military and intelligence services, attacking judicial independence, and enriching a select group of oligarchs.
The global reaction is one of stunned alarm within NATO, though a history of "supine grovelling" towards Trump suggests the alliance's leadership may offer only muted criticism. This inaction comes at a perilous time. Simultaneously, China's leader Xi Jinping has renewed threats against Taiwan, declaring reunification "unstoppable," while conducting major military exercises nearby. In this new era, the principle that "might is always right" appears to be the prevailing doctrine.
A World Redrawn and a Warning Unheeded
Trump's ambitions now paint a clear and chilling vision for a partitioned world. He sees the Western hemisphere as his personal domain, has suggested Russia can have Europe, and appears to cede the rest to China's sphere of influence. His repeated, bizarre threats—from annexing Canada to seizing Greenland for its minerals—can no longer be dismissed as the ramblings of a "demented man-child." His record shows he acts on these threats.
This is the pivotal moment, as poet W.B. Yeats foresaw, where "the centre cannot hold" and "mere anarchy is loosed upon the world." The invasion of Venezuela is not an isolated incident but the bloody culmination of a trend. Europe now faces a stark choice: to finally stand up against the rising tide or, as Kiley warns with grim prophecy, to remain "sitting down as the bloody tide rises around its ankles." The West as a coherent force of law and order has been shattered, and the path ahead is fraught with peril.
