OPED: VENEZUELA COLLAPSED THE MONROE DOCTRINE

Written by Michael Thervil

OPED: VENEZUELA COLLAPSED THE MONROE DOCTRINE | PHOTO BY ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO / POOL / AFP

[Monroe Doctrine Venezuela] No longer is the world centered upon the weight of any one country such as the United States. The days of unipolarity are over. Multipolarity is not only the name of the game now, but it has been for quite some time. The Monroe Doctrine which was created in 1823 by American President James Monroe has now collapsed. There used to be a time with America stood unchallenged in its own hemisphere of the world, that time ended in 2019 when Russia landed its strategic bombers near the capital city of Caracas, Venezuela in a successful effort to show support for President Nicolás Maduro Moros, who was under the scrutiny of the Americans at the time.

Since then, Russia has continuously sent various weapons and military technical assistance to not only maduro but to the heavily sanctioned country of Cuba. Cuba, a country that has been under the thumb of American sanctions since 1962 under the Kennedy administration has not only endured American sanctions, but they have continued to honor their naval traditions with Russia. The last time Russia entered Cuban waters was in June 2024, when a Russian nuclear-powered submarine made its way to the shores of Cuba which is an estimated 90 nautical miles from the coast of the state of Florida.

Fast forward to today, the question many American politicians are asking themselves is “how did we get to the point where the Monroe Doctrine has collapsed?” The answer to that question is simple. The overuse and weaponization of sanctions combined with economic coercion and strangulation used in conjunction with a weaponized military. In fact, the same geopolitical tools of control that failed and led to the kamikaze missions of Japan into pearl harbor is the same culprit that has led to the collapse of the Monroe Doctrine today. How the case of Venezuela differs is that multipolarity is at play. When one country places another country’s back against the “wall” economically in the era of multipolarity, that victimized country will seek the assistance of other countries that are willing to come to its aid.

In the case of Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro perceived that his country's sovereignty was on the line. America used the same play to sanction Venezuela, caused economic pain and hardship, and weaponized its military to engage in maritime piracy and steal Venezuelan oil. This “triple play” essentially left Venezuela with no choice but to turn to other allies as if it saw its sovereignty on the line. In doing so, the Americans forced President Nicolás Maduro to seek external help and as invited Russia stepped in to fill the gap. Granted Venezuela has been purchasing Russian weapons for quite some time, however, recent weapon shipments by Russia have solidified Venezuela's dependence on Russian made weapons. It is that dependence that new norms were established that excluded the Americans and made way for Russia to have permanent strategic presence in Venezuela.

The multipolar world is built on each nation’s economic hedging, incentives, constraint, stabilization and normalization, dependencies, risk mitigation, proactive accommodations, the practice of diversification, and the continuous shifting of norms amongst each other. It seems as if America didn’t get the memo from the international community. In short, Venezuela collapsed the Monroe Doctrine not by military action and defiance but because it proved that the Monroe Doctrine is no longer relevant on the world stage.