Comment by Dirk Emmerich:
In the new year 2026, what began in 2025 will continue. Tighten your belts - US President Donald Trump has set about reshaping the world. And on the principle - everything is determined by the right of the strongest. Just as he is reshaping America, Trump wants to change the entire world. What he thinks and wants is the only standard, everything else is irrelevant. And it is very possible that Venezuela is just the beginning.
The EU and Germany are shocked by Trump's intervention in Venezuela and are reacting using diplomatic clichés and empty phrases. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz convenes a crisis headquarters at the Foreign Ministry and issues a warning to anyone who wants to travel to Venezuela. His assessment is that everything is "too complex", whatever that means. And there is not a word for or against Trump's actions. Berlin wants to wait, and the entire EU is very concerned. Some countries are nevertheless expressing a clearer position - France speaks of a violation of international law, Italy criticizes the military intervention.
But wait a minute! Is Maduro the victim and Trump the villain? No, things are not that simple. Nicolas Maduro has oppressed his people for years, he has retained power thanks to electoral fraud, led Venezuela - despite the world's largest oil reserves - to ruin and destabilized the region through drug smuggling. The EU also did not want Maduro to remain in power.
End of the rules-based order
But it is unacceptable for Brussels to violate international law as blatantly and purposefully as Trump is doing. The EU still lives in the values-based world of the West, which no longer exists. At least outside of Europe.
No, this was not an act of war, it was not an invasion of Venezuela, but a “law enforcement operation“, Trump explains. This is reminiscent of the “special military operation“ of Russian President Putin. Trump does not use exactly the same words, but everything sounds very similar.
And what if the Venezuelan authorities decide to resist, despite the fall of Maduro? Then, as the owner of the White House promises, there will be a second wave of attacks, compared to which the first will be insignificant. The differences between a “law enforcement operation” and a military invasion are quickly being erased.
Trump doesn’t even pretend that this is about democracy
In any case, this is not about Maduro or drugs at all – it’s about oil and the deals of the American economy. The fact that the United States ruthlessly defends its interests is not unusual from a historical point of view. What is new is that Donald Trump is not even trying to pretend that he wants to export democracy or Western values. What is important for Trump is to let the world know that it must obey America. Moscow and Beijing, as expected, condemn these actions. But this seems like a reflex, a mandatory procedure.
In fact, Trump’s actions encourage Russia to impose a peace on Ukraine on Russian terms and with maximum demands. Why negotiate, why involve the EU, if the great powers can confront everyone with fait accomplis? China is probably also learning from what happened - Taiwan remains in its sights. The military exercises held by China at the end of the year were a clear signal in this regard.
In the new world, great powers assume the right to dominate their smaller and inconvenient neighbors. If necessary - with the help of force. If the US now takes up the problem areas in its immediate vicinity, no one will be able to forbid Russia and China from doing something similar.
2026 - a decisive year for the EU
With the new National Security Strategy, President Trump revived the "Monroe" doctrine of 1823, which to a greater or lesser extent declared Latin America to be an internal affair of the US. Trump has already threatened Colombia, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated directly: "If I were in Havana and I were a member of the Cuban government, I would be at least somewhat concerned."
Let's not forget Greenland, which after the intervention in Venezuela Trump confirmed should belong to the United States in the future. According to him, this is also clearly understood in the EU.
Trump's foreign policy is neither unpredictable nor isolationist - it follows a clear strategy and, from his point of view, has been successful so far. The old world order is crumbling and falling apart, the new one is based on spheres of influence in which the great powers - the United States, China and Russia - do as they please.
The EU thus risks being crushed. Unlike 2025, it is no longer a question of preventing the American presence from leaving Europe. Trump did that long ago. 2026 could be the year that will decide whether the EU will remain politically relevant or will finally become a spectator in a world ruled by others.