2026 begins with an increasingly autocratic United States rising on the global stage

The US military operation in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026 marked the culmination of months of military build-up and targeted attacks in the Caribbean Sea. It fulfills President Donald Trump’s claim to exercise authoritative control over the Western Hemisphere, as expressed in his administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy.

Some national security experts say US military action in Venezuela – carried out without US Congress approval or UN Security Council approval – is illegal. It may conflict with national and international law.

The attack in Venezuela is the clearest example during Trump’s second presidency of the shift from traditional American values ​​of democratic freedom and the rules-based international order to an America that exercises unilateral power based purely on perceived economic interests and military might. Autocratic leaders are not limited by laws and balances of power and use violence to impose their will on others.

What does this transition from a liberal America in the world to an autocratic America look like? After decades of working internationally on democracy and peacebuilding, I see three interconnected areas of the US’s long-standing foreign policy involvement being unraveled.

1. Peace and conflict prevention

The Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela reflect its “peace through strength” approach to international relations, which emphasizes military power. The actions also follow the government’s emphasis on economic pressure and victories as a deterrent to war and a bludgeon for peace.

This approach contrasts with decades of diplomatic efforts to build sustainable peace processes.

Foreign policy experts point out that the Trump administration’s emphasis in its foreign relations on business deal-making, aimed at negotiating between positions, misses the point of peacekeeping, which is to address underlying interests shared by the parties and build the trust necessary to address the causes of conflict.

Trump’s focus on deal-making also counters the world’s traditional dependence on the US as an honest broker and reliable economic partner that supports free trade. Trump made it clear that America’s interest in oil is an important reason for the attack on Venezuela.

Before Venezuela, the limits of the Trump administration’s approach were already visible in the global conflicts that Trump claims to have stopped. This is evident from the ongoing violence between Thailand and Cambodia and from the ceasefire violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Moreover, American expertise and resources for sustainable peacebuilding and conflict prevention have disappeared.

The entire Bureau of Conflict Stabilization Operations of the US Department of State was dismantled in May 2025, while funding for conflict prevention and key peace programs such as Women, Peace and Security was cut.

Trump’s unilateral military action against Venezuela belies an authentic commitment to lasting peace.

While it is still too early to predict Venezuela’s future under US control, the Trump administration’s approach will likely lead to more global conflict and violence in 2026, as the major powers begin to understand the different rules and learn to play the new game.

2. Democracy and human rights

Since the 1980s, U.S. national security strategies have included aspects of democracy promotion and human rights as American values.

Trump has not emphasized human rights and democracy as reasons to imprison Maduro. And so far, the government has rejected the claims to Venezuelan leadership by opposition leader María Corina Machado and Edmundo González, who is widely considered the legitimate winner of the 2024 presidential election.

Much of America’s foreign policy to build democracy and promote human rights worldwide has been achieved through foreign aid, worth more than $3 billion in 2024. The Trump administration has cut that by almost 75% in 2025.

These funds sought to promote fair elections and support civil society organizations and free media worldwide. They were also intended to enable independent and corruption-free judiciaries in many countries, including Venezuela.

For example, since 1998, the US has funded 85% of the $10 million annual budget of the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. The fund, now in jeopardy, helps survivors recover from torture in the US and around the world.

The congressionally mandated annual Human Rights Report, released by the State Department in August, signaled the Trump administration’s intent to undermine key human rights obligations of foreign governments.

However, the White House has used tariffs, sanctions and military strikes to punish countries on so-called human rights-related grounds, such as in Brazil, Nigeria and South Africa. Equally worrying for democracy defenders is the rhetoric punishing European democracies and the apparent willingness to elevate political parties in Europe that reject human rights.

3. International cooperation

A major goal of U.S. foreign policy has traditionally been to counter threats to U.S. security that require cooperation with other governments.

But the Trump administration ignores or denies many transnational threats. These include terrorism, nuclear proliferation, pandemics, new technologies and climate change.

Moreover, the tools that America helped build to address shared global threats, such as international law and multilateral organizations such as the United Nations, have been discredited and undermined.

Even before the US attack on Venezuela, scientists warned of the collapse of the international norm, enshrined in the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force by one sovereign country against another, except in specific cases of self-defense.

In early 2025, Trump signaled the end of much of US multilateral involvement, pulling the country out of many international bodies, agendas and treaties.

The government proposed ending its contributions to UN agencies such as the children’s fund. It is also allocating just $300 million to the UN this year, which is about a fifth of the membership dues it legally owes to the organization. A looming budget crisis has now swallowed up this only global consultative body.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration says migration and drug trafficking, including from Venezuela, pose the biggest security threats. Its solutions – the continuation of US economic and military power in America – ignore shared challenges such as corruption and human trafficking that drive these threats and also undermine US economic security.

There are also indications that the Trump administration is not only ignoring international law and retreating from America’s long-standing respect for international cooperation, but also seeking to reshape policy in its own image and punish those with whom it disagrees.

For example, his call to redefine global refugee protection — to undermine the principle that prohibits the return of people to a country where they could face persecution — would change decades-old international and U.S. domestic law. The Trump administration has already dismantled much of the U.S. refugee program and lowered the 2025 cap to historic levels.

Even for those who work in international institutions, there would also be a price to pay for an illiberal America. For example, the Trump administration has economically punished many International Criminal Court judges and prosecutors for their work.

And the administration has threatened more sanctions unless the court promises not to prosecute Trump — a more high-profile challenge now with apparent U.S. aggression against Venezuela, which is a party to the International Criminal Court.

Some democracy experts worry that U.S. military action in Venezuela not only undermines international law but could also serve to reinforce Trump’s project to undo the rule of law and democracy at home.