Venezuela operation signals opening chapter of global upheaval in the new year

With the United States as South Korea’s ally and China as a crucial neighbor, a sober and realistic reading of global dynamics is more essential than ever.

A screenshot from a video posted by the White House's Rapid Response 47 account on X, which originated from another account with the username PaulDMauro, shows Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro being walked down a hallway at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in New York City on Jan. 3. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The United States under President Donald Trump carried out a surprise military operation on Saturday, arresting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and transporting him to the United States.

The operation follows the Trump administration’s new national security strategy announced late last year, which emphasizes strengthening U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere. Trump said the United States would “never allow external forces to plunder our people in the hemisphere or push us out of it,” making clear that the goal was to remove the China-favoring Maduro regime. He added that Washington would “administer Venezuela until a safe, proper and prudent transfer of power is achieved.”

China reacted sharply. Its foreign ministry said the United States had “seriously violated international law, infringed on Venezuela’s sovereignty and threatened peace and stability in Latin America and the Caribbean.” Beijing used Washington’s own words against it, invoking U.S. criticism of China’s unilateral actions that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

More troubling is the broader implication of Maduro’s removal. The operation appears to reflect a shift from the United States acting as a “global police officer” to positioning itself as a “Western Hemisphere police officer,” an approach some have dubbed “Donroeism,” a blend of 19th-century Monroe Doctrine isolationism and Trump’s worldview. This raises concerns about the ripple effects on Europe and Asia, where power vacuums could emerge if Washington tacitly accepts greater Russian influence in Europe and Chinese influence in Asia. It could mark the opening of an era of tacit accommodation among great powers.

In the near term, the U.S. action in Venezuela could increase the risk of China's miscalculation regarding Taiwan. It may also signal that Trump's commitment to North Korean denuclearization is weaker than during his first term. North Korea underscored that message on Sunday by staging its third ballistic missile launch since the current South Korean government took office, signaling to Washington and Seoul that it sees itself as a nuclear-armed state unlike Venezuela.

Against this backdrop of upheaval in the international security order, President Lee Jae Myung faces a heavy burden as he travels to China for his first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. After receiving what many in Seoul see as a U.S. “bill” embedded in last year’s trade and security fact sheet, South Korea may now confront an equally demanding set of expectations from Beijing.

Since taking office last year, Lee has pursued pragmatic diplomacy that prioritizes ties with the United States and Japan, helping stabilize the fallout from the martial law crisis and lay the foundation for South Korea’s foreign and security policy. In managing relations with China, Seoul should avoid being consumed by efforts to improve ties with North Korea and instead adapt to a transformed international order centered on the U.S.-China rivalry. With the United States as South Korea’s ally and China as a crucial neighbor, a sober and realistic reading of global dynamics is more essential than ever.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.