Nicolás Maduro’s forceful unseating from power by the Donald Trump administration may signify something ominous for Latin America: the return of the United States of America in its bully avatar in the neighbourhood. But then, the US’s armed mediation in Venezuela needs to be seen in the context of the past — both distant and recent. History has been a witness to the US’s antagonism towards Cuba as well as its invasions of Mexico, Panama and Haiti; that tradition remains seemingly undisturbed in recent times. Even before the US conducted its military operation in Venezuela, it had targeted Brazil with tariffs, applied sanctions against the Colombian president, endorsed a right-wing candidate in the election in Honduras, and extended an economic lifeline to Javier Milei in Argentina. Ideological prerogatives offer a partial explanation for the US’s renewed intimidation: South America has elected several Left regimes. Expectedly, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Mexico, where the Left is at the helm, have, unsurprisingly, criticised Mr Trump’s violent meddling in Venezuela. But economic — imperial — ambitions are also at play. Venezuela’s oil, more than its alleged hand in pushing drugs into America, served as a veritable magnet for the current American president.

At an emergency meeting held by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Venezuelan representative warned that South America as a whole should be concerned by Mr Trump’s depredations. This logic extends to the global commons since the Venezuela chapter may have global implications. For instance, a predatorial Russia, taking a cue from American expansionism, may now be unwilling to settle for peace with Ukraine. Mr Trump may have also whetted Beijing’s appetite for the Chinese re-unification project: a conflict with Taiwan, which may draw the US in, now no longer looks like the stuff of nightmares. And there, of course, is Israel where Benjamin Netanyahu will be keen to take a leaf out of America’s new playbook to meet national territorial ambitions. If these ominous possibilities do come to pass, it would put existing templates that uphold the international order and the institutions that are tasked to preserve them — the United Nations and multilateral fora — under further strain. Even in South America, American adventurism — Mr Trump may be eyeing more nations — may lead to a realignment, pushing Latin American countries closer to China. The price of bullying, as is the case often, is steep.