Republican US Senator Rick Scott has stated that Washington would bring about a change in leadership in Colombia and would also “fix” Cuba and Nicaragua. He made these remarks during an interview with Fox Business, only days after US special forces reportedly abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a raid in Caracas.
According to the Treaty of Westphalia, states are sovereign entities, and they have full right to rule is territory in whatever manner they want. States like Cuba and Nicaragua are not the US states that can be ‘fixed’ by the US. At the same time, the US does not hold responsibility for fixing everything around the world. It’s none of their business. The US should first fix its own nation by eradicating racism and wokeism.
After the US lifted the Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, the US made clear that it does not want any intervention in the Western Hemisphere. Statements from the US politicians clearly underline that the US is going to undermine international law, rules and norms just to put its dominance over the hemisphere.
US President Donald Trump described the operation as an assertion of the Monroe Doctrine, aimed at maintaining Washington’s dominance in the Western Hemisphere. He also said that American companies must gain access to Venezuela’s oil resources. According to Scott, Trump’s actions would “change Latin America.” Speaking on Wednesday, Scott said, “We’re gonna fix Cuba, Nicaragua will be fixed. Next year, we’ll get a new president in Colombia,” adding that “democracy is coming back to this hemisphere.”
The United States initially imposed trade embargoes and sanctions on socialist governments in Cuba and Nicaragua during the Cold War. More recently, Washington imposed restrictions on Colombia’s left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, last year. Trump accused Petro of supporting drug cartels, an allegation Petro denied. Petro has also strongly criticized Trump for authorizing strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean.
When asked by journalists aboard Air Force One on Sunday whether he was considering military action against Colombia, Trump responded, “It sounds good to me.” Petro, a former member of a communist guerrilla movement, condemned Trump’s remarks. In a post on X earlier this week, he said that although he had vowed after the 1989 peace agreement never to take up arms again, he would do so for the defense of the country if necessary.
The US Department of Justice has indicted Maduro and Flores on charges related to drug trafficking and weapons offenses. Both pleaded not guilty when they appeared before a New York judge on Monday. Venezuela denounced the US operation as a breach of its sovereignty, with Acting President Delcy Rodríguez stating that the country would not be governed by foreign powers.
