Strongman’s World

 

 

 

IN ONE swoop, lasting merely 2.5 hours, the United States of America wrecked an assumed rules-based world. When powers in different regions are still locked in long-stretched battles to assert supremacy over land swathes they perceive as their own, Donald Trump showed them how it is done – with a nearly-bloodless operation. A midnight blitzkrieg saw Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro dethroned, kidnapped, and jailed miles away on charges ostensibly framed by Trump’s hegemonic policy-makers. Venezuela is now under American guardianship and the world is on the verge of becoming fragmented havens on the radar of the mighty and powerful. Maduro and his wife’s capture from his fortified military base was another brazen display of American imperialism. Trump’s narcissist traits have taken it to an ugly notch from where the US President openly threatens leaders and countries, punishes them via various tools, and then sends boots on the ground to upend international laws. The Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela came from the same playbook, backed by the despotic thinkers in Trump’s kitchen cabinet.

 

The plan to capture Maduro was in process for over four months as CIA operatives infiltrated Venezuela. Stealth drones and a mole in Maduro’s government fed every detail about the President’s movements. Back in Kentucky, the military had built a full-scale model of the compound Maduro stayed in. The elite Delta Force commandos kept rehearsing the strike, blowing open steel doors till they were given a green signal by the White House. On the day of the strike, Venezuela’s capital Caracas faced a sudden power cut engineered by a US cyberattack. It helped 150 American planes, drones and helicopters descend on the city absolutely undetected. The Delta Force took only three minutes inside the fortified military base to find Maduro. Such was the efficiency of the US forces backed by their extremely competent Intelligence units. Trump saw it all live, like a television show, before presenting a blind-folded Maduro to the world. The mighty had the last laugh.

 

The world has reacted to Maduro’s kidnapping with an impotent rage. Most saw it as a poetic justice given the Venezuelan President’s dictatorial functioning. For others with limited or no stakes, it was a matter of “deep concern”. The United Nations was all glib talk, letting out hollow words. Only Russia and China reacted strongly for obvious reasons. Amid the exhibition of guarded reactions, Latin American countries are gearing up to protect themselves. Trump is an immediate threat to their sovereignty. He has already made his intentions clear, cherry-picking from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 which established spheres of influence for the Americans and the Europeans. As is his despotic wont, Trump has rechristened it as Donroe Doctrine, a pitiful attempt to anoint himself as the ruler of the Western Hemisphere. Next on his target are Cuba, Mexico, and Greenland. American boots or “transfer of power” might soon be a reality in these countries if Trump has his way.

 

At present, there is simply no stopping him. It is his highway. However, ripples of the American take-over of Venezuela are going to be felt across the world. In a way, Trump has given legitimacy to such operations to be carried out by countries with military and money heft. The immediate reflection will be on Taiwan which has been on the Chinese target for too long. The Venezuela situation must have sent pulses racing in Taiwan. Comparisons are being drawn on how a Chinese raid on Taipei could play out. Though the tiny island nation has the backing of the US, the latest turn of events hands Beijing a justification to annex a land it claims as part of One China. China has long had designs on Taiwan. It has been putting pressure on other countries to recognise Beijing’s claims on the island. So far it has pursued a strategy of coercion without violence but has not ruled out a kinetic action on Taiwan. China’s People’s Liberation Army has been conducting intense military drills around Taiwan to showcase its ability to blockade the island and fend off international help.

 

The US, too, believes that the PLA is on track to achieve a decisive victory over Taiwan. Now, after the successful US military operation in Venezuela, many in Taiwan fear that Beijing will follow the American way sooner than later. In his bid to assert supremacy over Latin America, which his doctrine perceives as an American territory where Washington can intervene, Trump has turned geopolitical and geographical battles into a complex maze. He has stoked a fire of suppressed desires into a potential blaze as countries laying claim on regions in the neighbourhood might go the American way to achieve their long-pending dreams. It is set to keep borders hot and bilateral relations frosty. Already mired by distrust, there will be a constant danger of looking over the shoulder for nations engaged in border conflicts. For India, there are high stakes to guard along the China border. Beijing’s push for Arunachal Pradesh is assuming serious proportions.

 

New Delhi cannot afford another zone of conflict as other friction points in Ladakh are yet to be resolved. But at the same time, there is an opportunity too, if the Centre is willing to bite the bullet. A surgical strike in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) to capture Hizbul Mujaheedin chief Syed Salahuddin will be an Indian operation in its own land. It will require prioritising national interests over international concerns. It entails a bold, decisive operation and a diplomatic muscle to handle the consequences. The game is dangerous but Trump has shown the way of cherry-picking.