Demonstration in front of the US embassy in Seoul against Donald Trump’s imperialism. Image: keystone
analysis
Donald Trump has transformed from an isolationist to an imperialist. How far he will go is unclear. It’s not just because of the territorial claims that he’s treading on slippery terrain.
January 6, 2026, 3:50 p.mJan 6, 2026, 5:53 p.m
Donald Trump is a very different president in his second term than in his first. This is evident not only in domestic policy, but also in foreign policy. At that time he followed isolationist reflexes. This was never more evident than in June 2019: after Iran shot down a US drone, he stopped a last-minute retaliatory strike.
This is hard to imagine with Trump 2.0. He has ordered military action in Iran and Nigeria. And after he tightened the screw more and more against Venezuela, things escalated on Saturday. He had air strikes carried out on Caracas and President Nicolás Maduro and his wife dragged out of bed and taken to the USA.
Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores at the first court hearing on Monday in New York.Image: keystone
Trump did this without congressional approval, as required by law. Intoxicated by this success, the President shouts Threats against other countries. In other words, Donald Trump has transformed from an isolationist to an imperialist who deals with other countries as he sees fit.
Trump, the colonialist
In doing so, he makes similar-minded predecessors like Teddy Roosevelt or George W. Bush look like choir boys. And that in a jubilee yearin which the USA celebrates its liberation from the colonial yoke of the British Crown 250 years ago. Now Trump is behaving like a colonialist who wants to annex territories or reduce them to vassal states.
How far will he go? It is difficult to make an assessment; Trump is too erratic and unpredictable for that. Here is an attempt at classification:
Venezuela
The new President Delcy Rodríguez is seeking rapprochement with the USA.Image: keystone
After the raid against Maduro, Trump held a media conference in which he caused confusionfor example by announcing that the USA wanted to “lead” Venezuela. It is now becoming apparent that they… do not strive for “regime change”.. Trump seems to be primarily interested in controlling the huge oil reserves in the South American country.
The Chavista regime, which has run Venezuela down and turned it into a dictatorship, could remain in power. The new president, Delcy Rodríguez, who is considered relatively pragmatic – or opportunistic – took up the through ball. After initially announcing resistance, she offered Trump cooperation.
The opposition surrounding Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado is doing so for now a good face for a bad game. She hardly has anything else left. She is betting on Edmundo González Urrutia, who was probably cheated out of a clear victory in the 2024 presidential election. Now the same thing could happen to him and the Venezuelan people again.
Iran
In Iran, the population, fed up with the autocratic regime of the mullahs and the Revolutionary Guard, went back on the road in the last few days. The government responded with violence and understanding, describing the discontent about the miserable economic situation as justified. After the attack on Nicolás Maduro, an important ally but ruler in Tehran apparently “panic and worry”.
Because Donald Trump is threatening Iran open with an intervention. But here too the question arises as to how far he will go. Reports that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the country’s supreme leader considers fleeing to Moscowappear regularly when the people rise up. And a regime change forced from outside is considered extremely risky.
Greenland
But the clearest threats are directed at President Trump and his colleagues, especially top agitator Stephen Millerto Greenland and NATO ally Denmark, to which the world’s largest island belongs as an autonomous region. The Americans seem determined to take control of Greenland.
Donald Trump argues strategicallyhe could also be targeting raw material deposits. The Danish government appeared dismayed. A military annexation of Greenland would be the end of NATO and the security architecture that has existed since the end of the Second World War, warned Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
This will hardly impress Donald Trump, but even in this case the question arises as to how far he would go. He just wants to with his threats force a stronger US presence in Greenland? What the local population thinks of his expansion plans He doesn’t seem to care. It is colonialism in its purest form.
Latin America
Trump’s imperialism has received the name Donroe Doctrinealluding to the Monroe Doctrine formulated 200 years ago and named after the then US President. Latin America was defined as the exclusive sphere of influence of the USA, including any interventions. Venezuela could be just the beginning in this scenario.
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro is in Trump’s sights.Image: keystone
Trump makes the clearest threats against Gustavo Petrothe left-wing president of Colombia. In contrast to Nicolás Maduro, he has impeccable democratic credentials. His removal from power would be reminiscent of Guatemala in 1954 and Chile in 1973, where democratically elected presidents were overthrown with US involvement.
In Colombia, the USA would have to expect greater resistance from the population than in Venezuela. It is therefore questionable here as to what Trump really wants. Things look bleak for Cuba, where the economy is in shambles and Fidel Castro’s heirs are only clinging to power through violence. Without free oil from Venezuela the lights will definitely go out.
oil
Donald Trump makes no secret of the fact that his main interest in Venezuela is oil. The world’s largest known deposits are located there. Now US oil companies are supposed to take control, but they should think carefully about it. Because the Venezuelan oil industry is considered just as ailing as the entire economy.
If output were to increase, this could put pressure on the price of oil, especially if Iran were added to the mix. This would please America’s consumers, but harm its own producers who use expensive fracking methods. They could experience something similar to US agriculture, which is suffering from Trump’s tariffs and migration policies.
Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio (r.) and CIA Director John Ratcliffe (l.) are following the military action in Venezuela.Image: keystone
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seen as a voice of reason in the Trump administration, was already distancing himself. The United States has enough of its own oil, he said on NBC News on Sunday. Rather, it is about ensuring that Venezuela’s huge oil reserves are no longer under the control of opponents of the USA.
MAGA
Donald Trump’s imperialism poses domestic political risks for him, especially among his MAGA base. They have had enough of US interventions and are calling for a strict “America first”. But after the attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of Maduro she stayed quietwhich was mainly due to the fact that they took place quickly and without losses.
MAGA spokesman Steve Bannon even praised the campaign as “bold and brilliant”. However, if ground troops were sent – Trump did not rule this out – and the first soldiers returned home in body bags, the mood could quickly change. And if Trump takes military action in all possible places, his own followers could quickly rebel.
Russia/China
Russia and China have condemned Trump’s attack on Venezuela. This is not surprising, because Nicolás Maduro was a – not particularly effective – member of their “Axis of Autocrats”. He offered them a foothold in the backyard of the USA. Analysts say Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are secretly happy because of their own imperialist ambitions.
Nicolás Maduro and Vladimir Putin celebrated their friendship.Image: keystone
In fact, people in Moscow and Beijing are likely to be racking their brains as to what Trump really intends. A US intervention in Iran would definitely not be in their interest. In the Ukraine war, the US President seems to have no plan and no clue. And an invasion of Taiwan by China could lead to enormous disruption in the global economy.
Donald Trump currently seems euphoric about the rapid success in Venezuela. He doesn’t seem to know exactly what to do next. This is reminiscent of his celebrated Gaza peace plan, which seems stuck since the ceasefire. Conquering a colony is relatively easy. Keeping them is a completely different challenge.