The big news this past weekend was obviously our incursion into Venezuela and the capture of Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores. Now that they are in the United States to stand trial for drug trafficking, the question of the power vacuum begins. President Trump and his cabinet have a plan, but we have seen this before. There are similarities with the Middle East, but many contrasts that make this very different.
“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”
Original Constitutional Intent
Last week, I posted an article (Hard Times, Hard Money) that would indicate I have a problem with our actions, but I do, and I do not, for different reasons. We do not yet know the “behind the scenes” details, and I hope there is more planning than we know now. As usual, our military performed flawlessly, setting our expectations for the following stages of the process. But unfortunately, we have learned that unintended consequences can play out in ugly ways.
My concerns with actions like this focus on our deviation from the Constitution and our founders’ intentions. I believe in the value of securing the “buy-in” of Congress and the American people for any military action. Actions like this need to be paid for in an era of unprecedented deficits, and we need the approval of those who will be taxed to pay for the action. Without that, we risk disillusionment and further inflation with no identifiable solution.
”Evil often succeeds not because of the strength of the wicked, but because of the silence of the decent.”
I also believe that several of our wars since World War II would have been avoided or conducted very differently if accountability had been shifted to Congress and taxpayers. Even a military as capable and advanced as ours needs unwavering support from home, and they have not always had it. When we are all on the same page (World Wars I and II), we unite for shared sacrifice and victory.
Shifting Time and Perspectives
An obvious and very different issue is the technological advances since 1788, from an era when international communication was measured in weeks and months, to today, when it occurs in hours, minutes, or seconds. There are noticeable procedural differences from an era when Congress was much smaller and more patriotic as a governing body, with fewer than 100 members. Today, Congress has 535 members, some of whom have mixed or questionable Constitutional loyalty. The advice-and-consent role of Congress has a different meaning and is handled differently out of necessity.
In recent decades, this has shifted to post-event advice and hope for agreement. Consent is another matter altogether and is discussed only when we have “boots on the ground” and a prolonged engagement. Unfortunately, these are not addressed by Congress as a whole; there are always members who cannot be trusted. When a hypersonic missile can reach us from another continent in hours, there is no time to convene Congress to debate what to do. In many cases, action by the President has become a matter of survival, not a circumvention of the Constitution. The Supreme Court has avoided weighing in on the President’s right to act, but in this case, I believe he is acting within the law because of the New York indictments for drug and gun trafficking.
The Monroe Doctrine
In my view, what makes the Venezuelan engagement different is the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine. Written in 1823 by President James Monroe for his annual message to Congress, the doctrine outlines how the United States will address interference and problems in this hemisphere. At the time, it addressed European interference with our close neighbors. I have no issue extending this to the globe because of globalization, and the document focused on foreign interference. If Monroe were alive today, his speech would address all foreign interference.
But the Monroe Doctrine was more. It also stated that we would not try to influence European nations and that we expected European countries to reciprocate. As noted, there were different spheres of influence, with Europe representing the old world and the Americas representing the new world. Spain, England, and Russia had all had influence in the Americas, and Monroe wanted to “draw a line in the sand.”
Since we had no real standing army or navy, this was more a statement of intent and one we could not back up with military firepower. But when coupled with the concept of Manifest Destiny, it helped cement the United States as the dominant player in this hemisphere.
My observation is that neither the United States nor European nations has done a good job of following Monroe’s concepts. We cannot seem to stay out of Europe, and European (now add Asian) countries want influence in South and Central America.
Unintended Consequences
But there are excellent counterpoints to these discussions. I was watching a YouTube video last night on the Timeless Investor Channel addressing our Venezuelan maneuver. Arie van Gemeren, the host of this video, is well worth watching (The Law Every Expert Keeps Breaking (Venezuela Proves It Again). In this discussion, he makes many good points about our recent conflicts in Vietnam and the Middle East.
van Gemeren points out that everyone understands the initial military actions in conflicts, and no one can accurately predict the follow-on actions. There are too many variables once you set things in motion to make anything a certainty. And this uncertainty and lack of predictability have produced some disastrous results. The combinations and permutations that result from each action produce unknown or unpredictable results.
“Sometimes the unknown is kinder than the truth we already have, because possibility can hurt less than certainty.”
Many of the points he makes are starting to play out in the news today. What will China and North Korea read into this and do? How do other South and Central American countries feel about it, and do they draw closer to China and Russia or step back? How will this affect Cuba, and will its government fall without access to Venezuelan capital? How will the drug cartels in Venezuela and Mexico react?
And here at home, there are many variables as well. How will Congress react? How will both legal and illegal Venezuelans here in the United States respond? Will we need to go into Venezuela to keep the peace?
The known is the removal of the Maduros; everything else is a variable.
Evil Does Not Sleep
I have had only one day to think this over, but my earlier article on our participation in foreign wars was a good starting point for considering what has happened. In some ways, I have changed my mind, and it comes back to the other articles on Evil Does Not Sleep.
At my age, I understand that evil is a thing, not a concept. I have experienced enough of the world to have encountered evil and, on occasion, needed to battle against it. It might manifest through a person or a group, but evil is recognizable and tangible.
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.”
Everything I have read and thought about over the last two days only reinforces my view that the United States took the right action with Maduro and Flores. In a world as complex as ours, action speaks louder than words, and previous Presidents have talked about the issues long enough without action to back it up. The Maduros are bad people who were poisoning our children with drugs, spreading terrorism in the region, and plundering their own country’s wealth.
What comes next is uncertain and complex, but it is one of those unusual moments in history when the unknown is better than the known.
The known in this case is evil brought on by the Maduros; the unknown at least has a chance to throw off that oppression and pursue freedom. As in World War II, the unknown and chaotic post war period had to be vastly superior to the Nazi regime in Germany and Europe.
Peace is preserved through strength, military might, and readiness deters conflict and aggression. Preparing for war is not war, it deters war by making it too costly for an opponent to attempt. For too long our Presidents and Congress have let the narco-states in South and Central America operate without retribution.
"Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum" (Therefore, let him who desires peace prepare for war.)
We are enjoying a time known as the “Pax Americana,” where we are called to lead and confront evil. It is costly, uncertain, messy, and sometimes we get it wrong. But no other nation has shown the capacity and willingness to step forward and confront evil on its own turf.
Resources and Further Reading
Breaking down the U.S. criminal indictment against ousted Venezuelan leader Maduro, by Staff, Associated Press, cbc.ca, January 4, 2026.
Cilia Flores, Wikipedia, wikipedia.org, Last accessed January 4, 2026.
Making sense of the US military operation in Venezuela, by Staff, Brookings Institute, brookings.edu. January 5, 2026.
Manifest Destiny, by Britannica Editors, Britannica, britannica.com, November 25, 2025.
Monroe Doctrine, by Britannica Editors, Britannica, britannica.com, January 4, 2026.
The Law Every Expert Keeps Breaking (Venezuela Proves It Again), by Arie van Gemeren, The Timeless Investor, youtube.com, January 4, 2026.
What are the charges against Venezuela’s Maduro? How can the US indict foreign politicians? by Maria Ramirez Uribe and Amy Sherman, PolitiFact, politifact.com, January 5, 2026.
