Trump’s 2025 national security strategy revives Monroe Doctrine and pivots U.S. power to the Americas
Force in Play
The Trump administration's Trump Corollary put hemispheric dominance at the center of U.S. foreign policy. In January 2026, U.S. forces captured Venezuela's president; legal challenges and international opposition followed.
The Trump administration's Trump Corollary put hemispheric dominance at the center of U.S. foreign policy. In January 2026, U.S. forces captured Venezuela's president; legal challenges and international opposition followed.
On December 5, 2025, the Trump administration released a 33-page National Security Strategy declaring a Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The document formally revives the 19th-century idea of the Western Hemisphere as a U.S. sphere of influence and promises to reassert American preeminence across the Americas.
The NSS codified operations already underway: air and missile strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific killed at least 115 people in 35 strikes by year-end. The administration also designated major cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, deployed naval assets around Venezuela, and named the campaign Operation Southern Spear on November 13, 2025. On January 3, 2026, U.S. forces launched Operation Absolute Resolve, striking Caracas and placing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in U.S. custody on narco-terrorism charges — the first forcible regime change under the Trump Corollary.
The NSS breaks sharply from decades of U.S. bipartisan policy toward Europe, warning that European societies face civilizational erasure from migration, low birthrates, and speech restrictions, and suggesting some NATO members may be unreliable allies within two decades. It explicitly backs nationalist and far-right movements in Europe, calls for Europe to shoulder more of its own defense, stresses de-escalation with Russia, and takes a more transactional stance toward China and Gulf monarchies. EU Council President António Costa condemned U.S. interference in Europe's political life; human-rights advocates, U.S. analysts, and members of Congress called the Venezuela operation illegal and demanded the release of classified boat-strike videos amid war-crimes allegations.
Length of the Trump administration's strategy document outlining flexible realism, the Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, and a reordered global priority list.
115+
People killed in Operation Southern Spear by December 31, 2025
Estimated deaths from at least 35 U.S. strikes on alleged drug‑trafficking vessels and land targets in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific during Operation Southern Spear, the campaign the NSS presents as a model for the militarized Trump Corollary.
35+
Strikes on alleged narco targets through December 31, 2025
Number of U.S. strikes on suspected narco‑vessels and facilities in the Caribbean, eastern Pacific, and Venezuela between early September and year‑end 2025 under Operation Southern Spear.
150+
Aircraft used in Operation Absolute Resolve
Number of aircraft deployed in the January 3, 2026 U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, marking the first regime‑change operation under the Trump Corollary.
5%
NATO defense‑spending target pushed by Trump
Trump's demand that NATO allies spend 5 percent of GDP on defense, reflecting his expectation that Europe take over most conventional defense while the U.S. shifts to hemispheric priorities.
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21 events
Latest: January 3rd, 2026 · 5 months ago
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January 2026
U.S. forces capture Venezuelan President Maduro in Operation Absolute Resolve
LatestMilitary Action
In the largest hemispheric military operation since the Cuban Missile Crisis, more than 150 U.S. aircraft strike Caracas, and special operations forces seize President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from their home at Fuerte Tiuna military complex. Maduro is transported via USS Iwo Jima and Guantanamo Bay to New York to face narco‑terrorism charges. Trump declares the U.S. will run Venezuela until a proper transition occurs, marking the first forcible regime change under the Trump Corollary.
Eight killed in strikes on five suspected narco boats as operation intensifies
Military Action
U.S. forces kill eight people in coordinated strikes on five suspected drug‑trafficking boats in SOUTHCOM area of operations, continuing the escalation of Operation Southern Spear in the final days before the Venezuela regime‑change operation.
December 2025
CIA conducts first land strike inside Venezuela
Military Action
Trump announces the first U.S. strike on Venezuelan territory, a CIA drone attack on a marine facility allegedly used by the Tren de Aragua gang to load drug boats. The strike, likely carried out on December 24, causes no casualties but marks a significant escalation from maritime to land‑based targets and signals the imminent regime‑change operation.
U.S. imposes naval quarantine on Venezuelan oil exports
Military Posture
The United States enacts a naval blockade on sanctioned oil tankers traveling to and from Venezuela after imposing additional sanctions affecting oil trade, marking the first formal U.S. blockade in the Western Hemisphere since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and tightening the noose around the Maduro regime.
Hegseth tells Congress he is weighing release of boat‑strike video
Accountability
Following a classified December 9 briefing to congressional leaders, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tells lawmakers he is still studying whether to release full video of the September 2 double‑tap strike that killed survivors. Congress threatens to withhold a quarter of his travel budget if he refuses and includes video‑release demands in the annual defense authorization bill.
White House officially frames NSS as Trump's version of the Monroe Doctrine
Doctrinal Statement
In a briefing to congressional leadership, administration officials explicitly describe the 2025 National Security Strategy as Trump's version of the Monroe Doctrine, cementing the ideological and historical framing of the hemispheric pivot and foreshadowing the upcoming Venezuela operation.
EU leaders condemn NSS as interference in Europe's political life
Reaction
European Council President António Costa delivers a sharp rebuke to the U.S. National Security Strategy, stating that the U.S. cannot replace European citizens in deciding which are the right and wrong parties. A German government spokesperson dismisses parts of the NSS as ideology rather than strategy, highlighting a deepening transatlantic rift.
European backlash and Hegseth’s Reagan Forum speech crystallize new divide
Reaction
European leaders and former officials condemn the NSS language on civilizational erasure and its alignment with far‑right narratives, even as EU foreign‑policy chief Kaja Kallas insists the U.S. remains Europe’s biggest ally. At the Reagan National Defense Forum, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declares the Monroe Doctrine stronger than ever and defends the boat‑strike campaign as part of the Trump Corollary.
Trump administration releases 2025 National Security Strategy
Policy Document
The White House quietly posts a 33‑page NSS describing a strategy of flexible realism, reviving the Monroe Doctrine through a Trump Corollary, prioritizing Western Hemisphere dominance and Indo‑Pacific deterrence of China, and sharply criticizing Europe’s migration, speech, and climate policies while warning of civilizational erasure.
Lawmakers view classified video of second strike on boat survivors
Accountability
Military officials show members of Congress classified video of the controversial September 2 second strike, which depicts two shirtless men sitting atop a capsized boat before being targeted. An admiral testifies that everyone on the boat was on a target list of narco‑terrorists, but lawmakers express concern about potential war crimes and violations of the law of armed conflict.
Trump publicly ties Monroe Doctrine to his Trump Corollary
Doctrinal Statement
On the anniversary of the original Monroe Doctrine, Trump proclaims a Trump Corollary that reaffirms U.S. leadership in the Western Hemisphere and rejects foreign interference or control of strategic assets there, setting the conceptual stage for the NSS.
November 2025
White House defends second strike on survivors amid war‑crimes concerns
Accountability
Following investigative reports that a second strike killed survivors of the September 2 boat attack, the White House and Pentagon insist the operation was self‑defense in an armed conflict with narco‑terrorists. UN officials and legal experts warn the strikes may constitute extrajudicial killings.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth officially designates the boat‑strike campaign and broader anti‑cartel operations as Operation Southern Spear, aimed at targeting narco‑terrorist organizations and disrupting illegal drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. The formal naming signals an open‑ended military commitment under the Trump Corollary.
Reports reveal at least 22 strikes and 87 deaths in boat campaign
Investigation
Reporting by U.S. and international outlets confirms that the Trump administration has carried out at least 22 strikes on suspected narco‑boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing 87 people and prompting questions about evidence and legality.
October 2025
U.S. expands boat strikes to eastern Pacific
Military Action
The U.S. military destroys two boats off Colombia in the eastern Pacific, killing five people, in the first publicly acknowledged extension of the anti‑drug boat campaign beyond the Caribbean.
September 2025
Rubio says blowing up drug boats will deter traffickers
Public Statement
In Mexico City, Secretary of State Marco Rubio describes the Venezuelan boat strike as a deliberate shift from interdiction to destruction and warns that similar strikes will happen again, framing the campaign as a new war on drugs.
First U.S. airstrike sinks alleged Venezuelan drug boat
Military Action
U.S. forces strike and sink a small vessel in the Caribbean Sea, which the Trump administration says was carrying drugs from Venezuela; 11 people are killed. The next day Trump announces the strike, calling it a warning to narco‑terrorists.
August 2025
U.S. deploys warships to Caribbean amid tensions with Venezuela
Military Posture
The U.S. sends Navy warships and forces to the Caribbean near Venezuela as part of a new operation against drug cartels and alleged narco‑terrorist groups, reviving Monroe Doctrine‑style rhetoric about U.S. dominance in the hemisphere.
June 2025
NATO moves toward Trump’s 5 percent defense‑spending goal
Alliance Diplomacy
NATO Secretary‑General Mark Rutte says most allies endorse Trump’s demand to spend 5 percent of GDP on defense, signaling that Europe is preparing to bear more of the conventional defense burden as the U.S. pivots attention to hemispheric priorities.
March 2025
Trump administration designates major cartels as foreign terrorist organizations
Policy Decision
The State Department adds groups such as the Sinaloa Cartel and Tren de Aragua to the Foreign Terrorist Organizations list, enabling use of military force against them and laying legal groundwork for the later boat‑strike campaign highlighted in the NSS.
February 2025
JD Vance warns Europe about migration and internal censorship at Munich
Public Statement
At the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Vice President JD Vance argues that Europe’s greatest dangers are mass immigration and erosion of democratic norms via censorship and suppression of populist voices, foreshadowing themes later codified in the NSS about civilizational decline and internal threats.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
1 of 3
1823–early 20th century
The Original Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary
In 1823, President James Monroe declared that European powers should no longer colonize or interfere in the Americas, framing the Western Hemisphere as a distinct sphere where U.S. interests would be paramount. Over time, especially under Theodore Roosevelt’s 1904 Roosevelt Corollary, the doctrine evolved into a justification for U.S. interventions in Latin America to stabilize finances, protect American investments, and preempt European involvement. Roosevelt claimed a right of intervention in cases of chronic wrongdoing or impotence by Latin American governments, leading to repeated U.S. occupations, protectorates, and regime‑change operations in the Caribbean and Central America.
Then
The doctrine initially deterred formal European recolonization and allowed the U.S. to assert diplomatic primacy in the hemisphere, but the Roosevelt Corollary translated this into frequent armed interventions that bred deep resentment across Latin America.
Now
By the mid‑20th century, the U.S. gradually shifted away from overt occupations toward more multilateral and legalistic frameworks, though the Monroe Doctrine’s logic persisted in episodes such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The doctrine became controversial, seen by many in the region as a symbol of imperial overreach rather than mutual security.
Why this matters now
The Trump Corollary explicitly builds on Monroe and Roosevelt’s logic by reasserting a hemispheric sphere of influence and promising to deny non‑hemispheric rivals and unwanted actors any foothold. The historical record shows that such doctrines tend to expand from declaratory policy into repeated interventions with significant blowback, offering a cautionary lens on how today’s strategy might evolve and be perceived in Latin America.
2 of 3
1983 and 1989
U.S. Interventions in Grenada and Panama
In 1983, the U.S. invaded Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury) to overthrow a Marxist government and protect American medical students, citing regional stability and the presence of Cuban forces. In 1989, the U.S. invaded Panama (Operation Just Cause) to depose military leader Manuel Noriega, justified by drug‑trafficking charges, protection of U.S. nationals, and defense of the Panama Canal. Both operations were short, decisive, and largely unilateral, relying on the implicit claim that U.S. security and regional order entitled Washington to intervene militarily in its near abroad.
Then
Both interventions quickly achieved their immediate objectives and faced limited military resistance, bolstering perceptions of U.S. power and resolve in the hemisphere.
Now
They also entrenched skepticism about U.S. respect for sovereignty and legal norms, and became precedents cited by critics as examples of Washington using security rationales, including drugs, to justify regime change. Over time, they contributed to debates about the limits of unilateral intervention and the need to anchor actions in international law.
Why this matters now
Current U.S. boat strikes and the Trump Corollary’s focus on narco‑terrorism and hemispheric control echo justifications used in Panama and other interventions. The historical pattern suggests that operations launched around narrow security goals can drift toward broader political aims, such as regime change in Venezuela, and that even seemingly successful interventions can generate long‑term legitimacy costs.
3 of 3
2002–2008
George W. Bush’s 2002 National Security Strategy and the Bush Doctrine
Following the 9/11 attacks, the 2002 U.S. National Security Strategy articulated the Bush Doctrine, which asserted a right to preemptive or preventive military action against emerging threats, particularly terrorists and states seeking weapons of mass destruction. This doctrine underpinned the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and a broader global war on terror that relied on expansive executive authority, targeted killings, and controversial legal interpretations of armed conflict with non‑state actors.
Then
The strategy initially commanded substantial domestic support and enabled rapid military campaigns, but the Iraq war soon became protracted and costly, and controversies over torture, surveillance, and targeted killings eroded U.S. credibility.
Now
Over time, both domestic and international pushback forced constraints on the most aggressive applications of the doctrine, even as some tools, such as drone strikes, remained embedded in U.S. practice. Later administrations partially walked back preemptive rhetoric while retaining global counter‑terrorism capabilities.
Why this matters now
The Trump NSS similarly expands the conceptual scope of armed conflict to include narco‑terrorist cartels and leverages that framing to justify lethal strikes far from traditional battlefields. The Bush era shows how a doctrine that initially seems politically potent can trigger legal, humanitarian, and strategic backlash that narrows its application, suggesting that the Trump Corollary may face similar pressures over time.
