Following the US invasion of Venezuela, sympathetic figures on the right attempted to sell the move as an act of ‘swift justice’. Donald Trump, meanwhile, made it abundantly clear it was about the oil:

After bombing Venezuela and abducting President Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump said the US government is “going to run the country” until there is a “transition” to pro-US leadership.

He boasted that “very large” US corporations will exploit its oil.

This is blatant colonialism. pic.twitter.com/Cy44HmRdpG

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) January 3, 2026

The fact that Trump refuses to stick to the script is obviously a massive embarrassment for his bedfellows. It also doesn’t help that Trump has immediately begun sizing up other countries to invade:

Serial killer calling the live murder hotline begging someone to try and stop him before he kills again https://t.co/zjpvfCR2cE

— Victims of Capitalism Memorial Foundation (@karaokecomputer) January 4, 2026

“Incredible thing”

Trump has a long history of speaking his mind about Venezuela and his their oil:

9 months before the 2024 election, Trump said he wanted Venezuela to collapse so he can take them over for oil, and now he’s bombing Caracas on the first full moon of 2026. This was never about drugs. It was always about oil.pic.twitter.com/se7limfQDi

— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) January 3, 2026

In the video at the top, Trump was seemingly talking about why the US has to maintain Venezuela as a US colony:

But we can’t take a chance after having done this incredible thing last night of letting somebody else take over where we have to do it again. We can do it again, too. Nobody can stop us. There’s nobody that has the capability that we have.

You know, when I watch that war in Russia going on and on and on and everybody dying, it’s like it’s primitive. It’s primitive. It’s horrible.

Trump’s assumption is that Venezuela will immediately cave to US demands and start sending oil barrels by the ship full. It’s the same assumption that George W. Bush made after the US quickly toppled Saddam Hussein, and the same assumption Barack Obama made after supporting the Libyan uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.

Perhaps Trump is right, and this intervention won’t have predictably bloody results.

We hope that’s the case.

Because as much as we oppose US imperialism, we don’t want to see millions of people die in another pointless war.

If Venezuela does prove to be the exception to the rule, it’s unlikely this will prove true for subsequent expansions. This is concerning, because the US administration is already naming countries it could target next:

Trump: I think Cuba will be something we end up talking about because Cuba is a failing nation right now. It’s very similar.

Rubio: If I was in the government, I would be concerned pic.twitter.com/yIkb18p7Er

— Acyn (@Acyn) January 3, 2026

The new colonialism from Trump

You’ll remember that when Trump returned to power in 2025, he couldn’t stop talking about his plans to annex Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal:

The new Greenland Premier;

President Trump says that the USA “will take over Greenland ”
Let me make this clear:

—“It will not happen. We do not belong to anyone. We determine our own future.”

Jens Frederik Nielsen, Premier of Greenland
March 30, 2025 pic.twitter.com/1VeWuuBJBb

— Orla Joelsen (@OJoelsen) March 30, 2025

As Maryam Jameela reported for the Canary in March:

Leaders from both Greenland and Denmark have forcefully rebuked a planned visit from US officials. Vice-president JD Vance’s wife, Usha Vance, was scheduled to visit Greenland on a cultural visit. Now, her blundering husband has announced his intention to accompany her. Mike Waltz, the Trump administration’s national security advisor (who has had to take responsibility for an embarrassing and catastrophic leak just this week), is also due to visit Greenland.

The move has been met with derision from a number of officials – entirely understandable given Donald Trump’s repeated threats to take over the island. Greenland’s prime minister, Múte Bourup Egede, called the planned trips “highly aggressive.” The US has now reportedly ‘scaled back’ some of its plans for the visit – but it is still going ahead.

The Canadians took the talks of annexation incredibly poorly, which has become a real problem for America, as the BBCreported in December:

In response to US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods – and his suggestions that Canada should become the US’s 51st state – many Canadians have embraced the nation’s unofficial “elbows up” motto, a hockey term that implies punishing the opposition. A growing number have cancelled upcoming trips to the US, and as Canadians’ boycott of US travel extends into its 12th straight month, the trend sees no signs of slowing.

For years, Canadians have been the biggest source of international visitors to the US, making up 28% of foreign tourists in 2024. But that figure has dropped dramatically since January 2025. According to the US Travel Association (USTA), inbound Canadian travel to the US is down 23% year-to-date (Jan-Oct), which equates to an estimated $4bn (£3bn) loss compared to the previous year. The organisation says roughly four million fewer Canadians have visited the US so far this year.

Following the US violation in Venezuela, Katie Miller posted the following (quoted by the Danish ambassador to the US):

Just a friendly reminder about the US and the Kingdom of Denmark: We are close allies and should continue to work together as such. US security is also Greenland’s and Denmark’s security. Greenland is already part of NATO. The Kingdom of Denmark and the United States work… https://t.co/CboKnlKgJL

— Jesper Møller Sørensen (@DKambUSA) January 4, 2026

Katie Miller is the wife of Stephen Miller, who is Donald Trump’s very own Wormtongue (although he looks more like if Voldemort was a baby):

Stephen Miller melts down on Fox News, demanding that 60 Minutes producers be fired for the CECOT story Trump didn’t like… that didn’t even air.

This is how press freedom dies.pic.twitter.com/bEZtifUJW0

— Really American (@ReallyAmerican1) December 24, 2025

Europe has never been weaker

As people are pointing out, it’s unsurprising the US would once again consider taking Greenland given the limp response from European leaders. This included Keir Starmer literally trembling and Emmanuel Macron applauding like a seal:

Donald Trump reposte les propos de Macron.

Quelle honte pour la France. pic.twitter.com/oeOczemKZY

— Wcrt L (@L_Wcrdt) January 3, 2026

This is all happening mere weeks after vice president JD Vance suggested the US and France could be a direct threat to the US in years to come:

JD Vance has declared that France and the United Kingdom having nuclear weapons is a security threat to the United States.

Russia and MAGA want every remaining democracy in the world to be weakened and defenseless. pic.twitter.com/6mQ7QVhJZH

— Jake Broe (@RealJakeBroe) December 25, 2025

Europe needs to wake up to the fact that America no longer respects us.

Given that many European nations helped America bully the countries it doesn’t respect, we all know what this means.

Featured image via Wikimedia

By Willem Moore

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