The Donroe Doctrine and the Decline of Diplomacy

A collage of captured leaders Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and Manuel Noriega of Panama with a bloody bald eagle clutching a sign that says, “Donroe Doctrine.”

Diplomacy is in peril, and Caracas bears witness.

On January 3, 2026, U.S. military forces descended on Caracas in what the Trump administration labeled a “counterterrorism operation.” Within hours, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured—or kidnapped, depending on your politics—and bound for trial on charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy, and possession of machine guns. Early reports state that at least 32 people died in the raid, including members of Maduro’s Cuban security force, a detail that reveals as much about Cold War legacies as it does about contemporary geopolitics.

What unfolded was a resurrection of an old imperial playbook, echoing earlier U.S. interventions such as the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani in Hawaiʻi and the ousting of military leader Manuel Noriega in Panama. This capture-and-conquer imperial script has now been rebranded the “Donroe Doctrine,” an operational framework with three defining features. Read More on My Substack