" From Monroe to Maduro: The Old Doctrine in New Clothes "

By: Omar Silva

National Perspective Belize

www.nationalperspectivebz.com

Feature Article

Belize City” Wednesday 20th August 2025: When U.S. President James Monroe declared in 1823 that European powers should not interfere in the Americas, the Monroe Doctrine was framed as protection. But over two centuries, it mutated into a justification for U.S. hegemony—an imperial DNA that sanctioned occupations, coups, and regime change across Latin America and the Caribbean.

The pattern has always been the same: wrap dominance in noble narratives. In the Cold War, Washington sold interventions as “defending democracy against communism.” Today, the script has simply been updated: “war on drugs,” “humanitarian intervention,” or “fighting illegitimacy.”

Israel, though outside the hemisphere, has become the regional extension of this imperial logic in the Middle East. Both states share the same mindset: survival and supremacy through force, pre-emption, and denial of equal sovereignty to others.

The Venezuelan Case: Narrative vs Reality

Nowhere is this clearer than in Venezuela. Washington brands President Nicolás Maduro’s administration as a “narco-dictatorship”, unworthy of legitimacy. Yet international data contradicts this portrayal:

• According to UN Office on Drugs and Crime, most narcotics leave through Colombia’s Pacific coast, not Venezuela.
• Only about 5% of illicit flows are routed through Venezuela, and Caracas has actively cooperated in drug seizures with regional and UN bodies.
• Venezuela has been certified by the UN as engaged in the anti-drug fight—facts rarely mentioned in U.S. narratives.

The aim is clear: delegitimization, not drugs. By criminalizing Maduro, the U.S. seeks to isolate Venezuela diplomatically and justify potential interventions or sanctions to control the country’s oil and geopolitical alignment.

A History of Failures, A Pattern of Persistence

This is not new. The Monroe Doctrine logic has led to repeated interventions—often catastrophic:

• Guatemala, 1954 → CIA-backed coup against Jacobo Árbenz to protect U.S. corporate interests.
• Chile, 1973 → Salvador Allende overthrown with U.S. assistance, ushering in a brutal dictatorship.
• Nicaragua, 1980s → U.S. armed the Contra war despite international condemnation.
• Iraq & Libya → “Weapons of mass destruction” and “humanitarian protection” masks for oil and regime change.
• Iran → Decades of sanctions, assassinations, and failed attempts at isolation.

Each failure has strengthened the resistance of nations seeking sovereignty. Yet the imperial psyche cannot help but try again—this time with Venezuela.

The Psychopathic Tendencies of Empire

Labeling this as “psychopathic” is not hyperbole. The traits are evident:

• Lack of empathy → Sanctions block food and medicine, yet civilian suffering is dismissed as collateral.
• Deceptive rationalization → Democracy and drugs are cited, while the real goal is resources and control.
• Grandiose entitlement → U.S. exceptionalism and Israel’s “security doctrine” both claim unique rights above international law.
• Absence of remorse → From Iraq to Gaza, no apologies are issued—only new justifications for the next intervention.

This is not individual psychopathy, but institutionalized imperial psychopathy, dressed up in diplomatic language.

The Trump Hypocrisy

Consider the irony: the U.S. accuses Maduro of illegitimacy while Donald Trump, the face of U.S. leadership, is a convicted felon under U.S. courts. The contradiction is staggering. The so-called “illegality” of Maduro pales in comparison to the judicially confirmed criminality of the man who once occupied the White House and seeks to dominate the world again.

This is not about law or morality—it is about who controls the narrative of legitimacy.

Why Belize and the Caribbean Must Speak

For Belize, this is no distant matter. History has shown that when the U.S. sets interventionist precedents in the hemisphere, Guatemala takes note. If Washington claims the right to decide which governments are legitimate, what stops Guatemala from asserting its territorial claim on Belize with U.S. blessing?

The Caribbean, through CARICOM, has consistently advocated for non-intervention and respect for sovereignty. In today’s multipolar world—with Latin America moving closer to BRICS, and with Mexico, Brazil, and others rejecting Monroe-style imperialism—Belize must add its voice. Silence risks complicity, and complicity risks future vulnerability.

A Call to Condemn Interventionism

Belize must join the regional chorus in declaring:

• No Monroe Doctrine in the 21st century.
• No intervention under false flags of drugs, democracy, or humanitarianism.
• Respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty and, by extension, the sovereignty of all nations, including Belize itself.

As the Caribbean keeps Reality Watch, Belize must remember: an empire that destabilizes Venezuela today could embolden Guatemala tomorrow.

🔴 Final Word:

The U.S. and Israel maintain their psychopathic imperial tendencies because dominance has been coded into their political DNA. But in today’s multipolar reality, the Caribbean and Latin America must not remain silent. For Belize, this is not only solidarity—it is self-preservation.