When an empire has nothing left but brute force to communicate with, it has already lost the battle of history. And when it starts intercepting ships and kidnapping leaders, it means that its rights, influence and legitimacy have already been lost.

Taking both a diachronic and synchronic approach, this article delves into the mysteries of international relations to examine the underlying reasons for the American military intervention in Venezuela. It explores the historical continuities and strategic ruptures that shed light on this operation, while placing it within the complex web of contemporary tensions between major powers. Through this dual interpretation of time – that of geopolitical legacies and that of current dynamics – the aim is to understand whether the removal of Nicolás Maduro is an isolated episode or a turning point in the brutal reconfiguration of the world order.

Caracas as a symptom of American imperial violence

The Venezuelan episode, whether interpreted as a direct operation, extreme pressure or a demonstration of strategic force, is part of a long tradition of American imperialism whose roots go back well before the Cold War. Since 1898, the date of the Spanish-American War and the placing of Cuba under US control, Washington has never ceased to regard Latin America as a backyard to be protected from the influence of Moscow and Beijing, to be administered, disciplined or punished. This is why, without Russia and China, Washington’s foreign policy would lose much of its raison d’être since the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. One need only look at history to realize this.

The overthrow of Jacobo Árbenz in 1954, orchestrated by the CIA to protect the interests of the United Fruit Company, laid the foundations for a clear doctrine: any attempt at economic or political independence is a declaration of war. The coup against Salvador Allende on 11 September 1973, supported logistically and financially by the United States, confirmed that democracy was only tolerable when it produced........

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