Trump Launches 'America First' Strategy with Naval Escalation in Venezuela

President Donald Trump has initiated a sweeping shift in U.S. foreign policy centered on a new National Security Strategy (NSS) released in December 2025. The strategy introduces the 'Trump Corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine, which seeks to reassert American pre-eminence in the Western Hemisphere by denying non-Hemispheric competitors, specifically China, control over strategic assets. This policy marks a transition from a rules-based global order to a transactional 'America First' approach.

To enforce this doctrine, the U.S. launched a military campaign in the Caribbean and Pacific, deploying 15,000 troops and the USS Gerald R. Ford. U.S. forces destroyed over 20 boats—resulting in more than 80 deaths—and seized a Venezuelan oil tanker carrying 1.6 million barrels of crude oil. While the administration cited narcotics trafficking and sanctions violations, the actions are widely viewed as a move to secure Venezuela's oil reserves and destabilize the government of Nicolás Maduro. Trump also authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct covert operations on Venezuelan soil.

Beyond Venezuela, the administration has used economic coercion to influence regional politics, including imposing a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods and intervening in elections in Argentina and Honduras. Globally, the U.S. is pursuing a geoeconomic strategy to weaken the European Union to facilitate U.S. investment in Russia and deregulate Silicon Valley tech firms. These developments have strained alliances, leading Denmark to identify the U.S. as a potential threat to its national security regarding Greenland, while Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the naval strikes as state-sanctioned murder.