Trump has removed the leader of Venezuela from power, promised to control its vast oil reserves and threatened other Latin American countries with similar military action. He has openly spoken of annexing Greenland, even by force. And outside the Western Hemisphere, he warned Iran that the United States could attack it again, Reuters wrote in a commentary on the first anniversary of President Donald Trump's inauguration, BTA reports.
As the new year dawns with a series of aggressive moves and fiery rhetoric, US President Donald Trump is sweepingly dismantling the rules-based global order that the United States helped build from the ashes of World War II, the agency said.
It has left much of the world in a state of shock, while friends and adversaries of the United States are struggling to adjust to what appear to be changed geopolitical realities. Many are unsure what Trump will do next and whether the recent changes will be long-lasting or can be reversed by a more traditional future US president, Reuters commented.
"Everyone expected Trump to return to office with loud statements", said Brett Brun, a former foreign policy adviser in the Obama administration and current head of the consulting firm "Global Situation Room". "But this dismantling of the pillars that have long supported international stability and security is happening at an alarming and destructive pace," he added.
Spheres of influence
While much remains unclear, Trump has demonstrated in recent months a willingness to exercise unqualified American power, as he did with the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities in June and the operation to capture Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela on January 3, Reuters noted.
And he has signaled that he may intervene again, especially in the Western Hemisphere, where he has promised to restore US dominance, despite campaigning on an "America First" agenda that avoids new military engagements.
This assessment of Trump's reshaping of the global system is based on Reuters interviews with more than a dozen current and former US officials. government officials, foreign diplomats, and independent observers in Washington and in capitals around the world.
On the world stage, Trump is resurrecting what much of the international community has long dismissed as an outdated worldview - spheres of influence created by great powers.
The inspiration comes from the "Monroe Doctrine" 19th century strategy that prioritizes U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, which Trump has embraced and reworked into the "Donro Doctrine", Reuters reports.
Observers say that while the revival of this strategy has unsettled some U.S. allies, it could also serve the interests of Russia, embroiled in a war in Ukraine, as well as China, which has long had its sights set on Taiwan.
Following the U.S. attack on Venezuela - and Trump's transparent move to target the OPEC member's vital resources - some of America's most loyal allies have expressed growing concern about the weakening of the global order.
At stake is the international system that has been shaped over the past eight decades, largely under U.S. dominance, and that, while it has undergone periodic reversals, has helped prevent global conflicts. This international system is based on free trade, the rule of law and respect for territorial integrity, Reuters reported.
A White House official said Trump's policies, including a strong focus on the Americas, a show of military might, tough border measures and the widespread use of tariffs, were what got him elected, and "we're seeing the corresponding reactions from leaders around the world."
Stephen Miller, a senior White House adviser, seemed to sum up the administration's worldview when he told CNN on Jan. 5: "We live in a world, the real world, that is ruled by force, that is ruled by violence, that is ruled by power."
Europeans, already plagued by doubts about Trump's willingness to defend Ukraine against Russia, have spoken out more openly in recent days, particularly about his intrusive drive regarding Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO member, Reuters commented.
Last week, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier accused the United States of "loss of values" and urged the world not to allow the international order to collapse, becoming a "nest of robbers".
Trump has argued that the United States must have the Arctic island to prevent Russia or China from occupying it, even though Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that a U.S. move to seize Greenland would spell the end of the transatlantic alliance.
Amid growing concern, some European leaders have suggested that NATO deploy forces to the Arctic to address U.S. security concerns.
Protecting their interests
Even before the latest events, some U.S. allies had begun taking steps to defend themselves against Trump's sometimes chaotic policies, including Europe's growing efforts to boost its own defense industries.
Trump has also raised concerns among Washington's Asian partners, Reuters notes.
Itsunori Onodera, an influential Japanese lawmaker from the ruling party and former defense minister of Japan, wrote on the social platform "Ex" that the US operation in Venezuela is a clear example of "changing the status quo by force".
Trump's criticism of European allies and his apparent bias towards Russia last spring led a group of senior Japanese lawmakers to consider the idea that the only country to have been attacked with atomic bombs might have to develop its own nuclear weapons, Reuters reports.
The agency notes that in contrast, former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that he did not consider Trump's actions in Venezuela a "shocking event" for world order, though he questions whether Trump's increased focus on the Western Hemisphere is a "Europe, fend for yourself" message.
Most friendly governments have reacted with great restraint on Venezuela, unwilling to incur the wrath of the US president.
"Publicly criticizing Trump will not help us achieve our goals," said a British official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mexico's left-wing government was quick to criticize the US for detaining Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela's authoritarian socialist leader, but given the high cost of risk in relations with its northern neighbor, a senior Mexican official said "it will not amount to anything more than a public condemnation of the use of force."
Trump, who has threatened to unilateral military action against drug cartels in Mexico and Colombia, recently said in an interview with the "New York Times" that his power as commander-in-chief is limited only by "his own morality", not by international law, Reuters notes. In the interview with the American daily, the president said that morality is "the only thing that can stop me" when it comes to the limitations of his power. Donald Trump said that "there is no need for international law" and that his power is limited only by "his own morality", the British newspaper "Guardian" commented on this interview.
In another, subsequent interview with the "New York Times" Trump reiterated that the only thing that could limit his power as US president is his "own morality, his own reason". "That's the only thing that can stop me," Trump said, adding, "I don't want to hurt people." He went on to say, "I do. It depends on what your understanding of international law is."
Trump, speaking at a time when his administration is considering "a number of options" in its bid to gain control of Greenland, also stressed the importance of ownership, according to the Guardian.
"Ownership is very important," Trump said, adding, "Because that's what I think is psychologically necessary for success. I think ownership gives you something that you can't do with a lease or a contract. Ownership gives you things and elements that you can't get just by signing a document."
Trump also dismissed concerns that his decision to remove Nicolas Maduro from power would set a precedent for a potential takeover of Taiwan by China or for Russia to try to control Ukraine.
Justifying the US attacks on Venezuela, Trump repeated his controversial claims that Maduro had allegedly sent gang members to the US.
"That was a real threat. You didn't have people pouring into China. You didn't have drugs pouring into China. You didn't have all the bad things that we had. You didn't have prisons opening up in Taiwan and people pouring into China," Trump said, adding that no criminals were "pouring into Russia."
He also said he did not believe Chinese President Xi Jinping would take control of Taiwan, telling the New York Times: "That's up to him, what he does. But you know, I've expressed my opinion to him that I would be very unhappy if he did, and I don't think he will. I hope he doesn't.".
Trump added: "He might do it after we have another president, but I don't think he will do it with me as president.".
He also seemed unconcerned about the latest arms control treaty between the US and Russia, which expires next month, according to the "Guardian".
"If it expires, it expires," Trump said, adding: "We'll just make a better deal." He went on to say that China should be included in future agreements, saying: "You probably want to include a few other players".
Trump's latest interview comes amid rising domestic tensions in the US after the fatal shooting of a woman by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis, which sparked violent protests, and amid strained relations with European allies over the potential US acquisition of Greenland, the Guardian newspaper notes.
A new imperialism?
While critics accuse Trump of a new imperialism in Latin America, his defenders say he is overdue, especially given China's economic and diplomatic encroachment in the region, Reuters reported.
A White House official said Trump was "rightly restoring American influence", especially having got rid of Maduro, whom he accused of “poisoning“ Americans with a flood of illegal drugs and sending Venezuelan immigrants to the United States.
"While the US administration's actions in Venezuela have shocked the world and sent a strong message to US rivals in Beijing, Moscow, Havana and Tehran, they are likely just the starting point for a longer-term and more comprehensive reassessment of the US's core interests in the hemisphere," Alexander Gray, a senior fellow at the Washington think tank and a former foreign policy adviser during Trump's first term, wrote on the Atlantic Council website.
However, Trump's approach carries risks for the United States, Reuters reported.
Key regional powers such as Brazil could be pushed even closer to China, shielding themselves from Trump's pressure, some observers say.
Most worrying for US allies is Trump's focus on Venezuela's oil as a driving force behind Maduro's ouster. Washington has so far kept loyalists of the ousted president in power while forcing them to grant privileged access to American companies, Reuters notes.
Experts warn that using American power without any regard for international norms could embolden China and Russia to step up their coercive actions against their own neighbors. But a White House official said U.S. adversaries "have certainly taken the president's power into account."
Zhao Minhao, an international relations expert at Fudan University in Shanghai, said the United States had "blown up the idea of a 'Chinese threat' in Latin America." Soon after taking office, Trump spoke of returning the Panama Canal and pressured the Panamanian government to review Chinese facilities near the strategic waterway. But according to the Chinese expert, Trump appears to favor great-power spheres of influence, an approach that many say is attractive to Beijing.
The prevailing view in Russia is that the U.S. attack on Venezuela, including the detention and transfer of Maduro to New York to stand trial on "drug trafficking" charges, was a pure power play.
"The fact that Trump simply "stole" the president of another country shows that there is actually no international law - there is only the law of force," Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, told Reuters. "But Russia has known this for a long time," he added.
Trump's thirst for further military action abroad could extend to targets far beyond the Western Hemisphere.
Even as events unfolded in Venezuela, he threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where Muslim clerics face one of the biggest challenges to their rule since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he was considering possible responses, including military options. "We may have to take action because of what's happening," Trump said.