​Assaults Between Caracas and Gaza

On 3rd January 2026, the world was stunned by what is called “Operation Absolute Resolve”. U.S. forces conducted a midnight raid on the Miraflores Palace, capturing Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

While Washington celebrates the “Don-Roe Doctrine”—a blend of “Donald” and the 1823 Monroe Doctrine asserting America’s right to use military force in the Western Hemisphere to “clean up” the region and seize resources like oil and other minerals without international permission—this shift raises profound legal and moral questions.

For readers in the region, “Don-Roe” represents a 21st-century evolution of American dominance, signaling that the U.S. no longer feels bound by the UN or Congressional approval when it decides to invade and “run” a country in its backyard.

​The human cost of this doctrine surfaced in a Manhattan courtroom day before yesterday where Cilia Flores appeared with visible bandages on her head and temple. Her attorney, Mark Donnelly, told the judge she was “badly injured” during what he described as a “military abduction.”

Donnelly claimed she suffered significant trauma, including potential fractured ribs and severe bruising from the excessive force used by special operators. This event signals a move toward absolute unilateralism. By treating foreign leaders as domestic criminals and bypassing international norms, the U.S. has declared the “rules-based order” secondary to its own interests, risking the alienation of allies and pushing adversaries into new security blocs while the UN Charter appears increasingly hollow.

​The most biting critique remains the comparison between Maduro and Benjamin Netanyahu. While the U.S. used elite commandos to capture Maduro—who was not publicly wanted by the International Criminal Court—it continues to shield Netanyahu, who has been wanted by the ICC for 16 months for committing genocide in Gaza.

If there were true justice, Trump would have had Netanyahu arrested when he visited him a few days ago and handed him over to the ICC. Protecting an ally while invading a foe is a blatant double standard. As Maduro and a wounded Flores face trial, America’s moral authority to lead the world faces its own judgment before the international community.